San Juan Islands - End of April/Start of May

All;

Considering a trip to Seattle and the San Juan Islands the end of April and start of May. Looking to spend 3-4 days on San Juan Islands (probably lodging in Orcas).

I know that seeing Orcas that time of year is not a guarantee... but excited about the prospect of a lot of other animals and seeing a new part of the country.

Any and all advice for photography, what to bring, what to wear would be helpful. Looking to do 1 whale watch and some (guided) sea kayaking. We will have a car.

Also I would love to get photos of River Otters.

Thanks in advance!!!!

Hi Luke! I don't know the San Juans very well myself but I can recommend Greg Vaughn's book Photographing Washington. He has a chapter dedicated to the San Juan Islands. I went on a whale watching trip through the San Juans a few years ago and had great luck.

I hit reply before I attached this photo

Thanks - yea I did run across that... So cool to see the skyline in the background

Hi, Luke,
Check out the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, San Juan Is. for whale watching. A naturalist will accompany you on tour, and they know so much about our local pods of Orcas and where to find them. Charters are also available out of Anacortes, Wa., which provides a great passage through the islands with other seagoing wildlife possible. Orcas Is. is a good place to station yourselves. Enjoy being on island time. NOTHING is done hurriedly. Good for the soul. You might want to stay longer....
P.S. Dress in layers and bring rain gear for selves and cameras. Include waterproof shoes/boots. Expect any kind of weather from sunny and mild to cold and stormy. Good photo ops in all kinds of weather!

Hi Luke,

Somehow I missed this when you originally posted.

Orcas Island is beautiful, and I especially recommend Moran State Park. Go up to the top of Mt. Constitution for great views over the Salish Sea to Mt. Baker. Unfortunately, the road is gated and not opened early enough in the morning for sunrise, but it's still worth it. Nice forest on the way up, too, with several hiking trail options. At the top there isn't really a good sunset view, but some nice options for looking south if the clouds are good.

There are also some great views from the trail at Turtleback Mountain Preserve. Take the South Trailhead, not North. http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/turtleback-mountain.

Kayaking tours out of Deer Harbor and Doe Bay are excellent, and you can rent kayaks independently in Eastsound.

For whales, I think you might have better luck on San Juan Island. Lime Kiln Lighthouse is a great sunset location, and immediately south of there is one of the best whale spotting sites. English Camp and American Camp historic sites have very good photo ops. I think you might want to spend at least one night on San Juan Island.

Washington State Ferries are now taking reservations for the San Juans run, which I highly recommend. Otherwise, the wait time on weekends can be pretty long. Also, you pay the fare going westbound, and returning eastbound is included, so it's less expensive to go to San Juan Island first, then Orcas.

Have a great trip - the San Juans are both beautiful and fun.

- Greg

Greg - no worries, we don't leave for a few more weeks. Thanks for the thorough response! We are spending 2 nights on Orcas and 3 on Friday Harbor. Ferries are booked, just have to book the ferry between Orcas and San Juan. The Ferry prices are way better than they are here for traveling from Long Island to Connecticut - talk about a rip off.

Just got back in yesterday - had an incredible time! Thanks for all the info and suggestions. The weather was nothing short of incredible - the only time it really "rained' was driving from Seattle to Anacortes. We got a little drizzle at the start of our whale watching trip - but as soon as we got to the humpback whale the rain stopped. Why are people always complaining about the weather???