With over 17 hours of sunlight, 70-degree days with a cool ocean breeze, and an abundance of migrating wildlife; it’s no wonder why summer is the most popular time to visit Friday Harbor and San Juan Island. Nestled in the rain shadow of the Olympic mountains, the island gets less than 24 inches of rain annually (with less than 6 of that falling in the summer months), making this climate arid enough for prickly pear cactus to grow on some of the islands.
Summer new and full moons boast over 11- foot tidal exchanges, creating remarkably low tides that expose purple ochre stars, red urchins, christmas anemones, gumboot chitons and a host of other intertidal critters only visible from your kayak. It’s tidepooling like you’ve never seen before! These exchanges also create our notorious dynamic currents, peaking at over 5 kts on some crossings, and are part of why the Salish Sea is one of the top kayaking destinations in the U.S.
If you can stay up late enough on a moonless night you’ll be dazzled with a glittering light show on one of our summer bioluminescence kayaking tours. This seasonal algal bloom is a phenomenon not to be missed, with thousands of microscopic organisms that light up like fireflies in the water as you paddle through the serene evening waters of Griffin Bay. Visit during the yearly Perseid meteor shower when the light show below is matched by the light show above!
With the summer weather come the summer crowds, flowing off the ferry in waves. Looking for something a little quieter? Well every seasonal town has a “shoulder season,” and Friday Harbor is no exception! In April and May our sleepy island begins to wake up after the dark winter, and hikes along the usually wind-swept southern prairies of Mt. Finlayson are a luscious green. Grazing deer and curious fox will accompany you as you look out over the Olympic Mountains and Strait of Juan de Fuca. October boasts fewer crowds and specialty events like The Friday Harbor Film Festival featuring documentaries and their filmmakers from around the globe, many with an environmental theme.
Be it the bustling peak of summer, the sleepy dark days of winter, or the waxing and waning of the shoulder season; every season on San Juan offers its own unique adventure.