Experience the best of the Pacific Northwest. In no particular order, here are my top 8 recommendations for Washington campgrounds with a spectacular view!  

San Juan: Stewart Island State Park

Catch a Lovers’ Leap sunset that rivals some of the best around. Experience a rad and beautiful bay camping vista. Check-out wildlife, the old school house, and a graveyard that includes a list of how everyone died. If you're once in a lifetime lucky...

I don’t know about you, but I love creative and adventurous dates or getaways! With Valentine’s Day right around the corner now is the time to start planning your romantic getaway to San Juan Island.  Within the last couple of years Friday Harbor and San Juan Island have become better known in the travel-sphere for our beautiful summer season, but the winter months here on the island have slid under the radar as a prime time to visit the islands.

In the winter the islands...

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 09/01/2017, 2:00 pm Tour]

Today was another glorious day in Roche Harbor, and for Captain Joe and me, it was made even better by the chance to take our wonderful guests out to the Haro Strait to view some Transient killer whales! The water was as calm as glass, and there was hardly a breeze. It was a perfect day for whale watching. We were delighted to see a few different family pods all traveling together, some with big adult males, several...

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 08/12/17, 6:00 pm Charter]

What do humans do for fun when they're hanging out with their families? Run around outside and throw a football around? Play Settlers of Catan and watch Disney movies? Bake cookies and make gourmet hot chocolate? Well, whatever you do for fun, you can bet orcas have their own ways of playing too! Guests onboard M/V Seahawks private charter today were treated to some amazing playful behaviors from a pod of Transient...

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 08/01/17, 2:00 pm Tour]

We had some interesting weather in the Salish Sea today - a nice haze coated our islands, creating an etheral aura and providing a beautiful backdrop for our whale watches today. After our guests had boarded the M/V Seahawk in Roche Harbor, Captain Joe shared his plan for the day. We would be heading north and going into "search mode" because no whales had yet been reported in our area - we wanted to be the first to find...

Despite intense yearning and best efforts, guests and crew aboard the M/V Sea Hawk were reminded that one can flip only so many whale tails before you’re certain to get a deadhead.  After a lucky run of tours over the past week, which included multiple whale species, the laws of statistics came bear, resulting in not one sighting of a cetacean today.

No matter, our guests could still be heard chattering and laughing from the Canadian shoreline as we plied the...

A Guide to Wildlife in the San Juan Islands

Did you know the San Juan Islands are home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the entire world? It’s true!

Every time we set out on a whale watching tour by boat, our number one goal is to see whales. Most days we do, but we also see a huge variety of other wildlife, including animals many of our guests have never seen up close before! Our kayak tours encounter a variety of diverse wildlife, and sometimes whales, too!

 ...

Last night around 11:00 PM, snow began falling on the quiet community of San Juan Island. It gently snowed all through the night, and produced this magical snowy island scene. It's not often the Friday Harbor receives snow; the Pacific Ocean regulates our temperate climate. It's a rare event for San Juan Island to get any measurable snow!

Snow on San Juan Island

December 9, 2016

Tomorrow is the Autumnal Equinox! And even though this signals the true end to summer, this doesn’t mean that all the whales leave as all the humans have started to do. Whales actually travel through these waters all year round! Yesterday, though, still felt a little bit like summer. Captain Brian, myself and some wonderful guests took the M/V Seahawk south to search for the Southern Resident Orcas. They have been in the inland waters the past few days foraging for salmon...

J16 Slick surfacing

  This afternoon, Captain Gabe and I set off from Roche Harbor with arguably the best dressed guests we've ever had on board. They had just had a wedding! Normally, I would have advised the ladies to change clothes before getting on the boat--just because the wind can be chilly. But this group came fully prepared, with carefully picked out and coordinated sweaters to go with the dresses, and blankets for all. Luckily though, we were having perfect...