San Juan Islands for Families on a Budget

San Juan Island is the easiest of the islands to visit without a car, thanks to the tourist-friendly town of Friday Harbor. Disembark from the ferry and you’re smack-dab in the middle of bustling restaurants, good hotels and indie boutiques. Bring your car if you wish to explore the island’s unique rural beauty beyond Friday Harbor, including bucolic alpaca farms, some awesome coastal parks, and a cool sculpture park home to 150 unique outdoor art creations by world-renowned sculptors. Alternatively, you can get around via San Juan Transit, where an all-day pass will cost you $15 ($10 for 12 and younger).

Things to do on San Juan Island

Take a hike! Kids will love exploring the tide pools and interpretive nature trails at San Juan Island National Historical Park. On the island’s west shore, Lime Kiln Point State Park is known as a great spot to watch for passing orcas — more plentiful in summer — and it also boasts 1.6 miles of hiking trails through a hillside forested with madrone trees. Kids can learn all about amazing orcas at The Whale Museum.

On the south end of San Juan Island sits my family’s favorite spot: a bluff-top prairie called American Camp — the former home of U.S soldiers during the U.S./British occupation of the mid-1800s. A new visitor center is now open Wednesday–Sunday, 1–3 p.m. The center has books and guides to island history and wildlife, and offers nature and history walks (on weekends through August) led by local rangers. Keep an eye out for the special wildlife that calls these grasslands home, such as the red fox, European hare and vesper sparrow.

Lodging on San Juan Island

The best value for families is to book a hotel-style room at Discovery Inn. For a bit of modernist flair, book a room or suite with a kitchenette at Earthbox Inn & Spa in downtown Friday Harbor, a refurbished motor inn with an on-site spa and indoor pool, plus jewel-toned pedal cruisers for guests who want to take a spin around town.

For a splurge, the cute historic cottages at Roche Harbor Resort hail from the 1890’s and sit right on the harbor shore. On a recent stay here, we loved having two nice-sized bedrooms and a full kitchen stocked with all the necessary cooking supplies, saving us cash from eating out. The best seat in the house is on the cottage's front porch for morning coffee and watching the evening sun set over the water.

Lakedale Resort offers a family glamping option: wood-floored canvas tent cabins scattered in the woods along a freshwater lake, fully furnished to sleep four. Public campsites are scarce on San Juan Island, but if you’re lucky, you can reserve one with a killer view at San Juan County Park.

Restaurants on San Juan Island

Pick up some gourmet picnic fare at The Market Chef, maker of artisan sandwiches and healthy salads. Stop in at Van Go’s Pizza for delicious thin-crust pizzas the whole family will love, from good ol’ pepperoni to prosciutto and pear.

Next stop: Lopez Island