On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
PaulB
Welcome to stage 9 of “Washington’s Ultimate Road Trip,” the Cascade Loop. Today, we’ll be visiting a town that is not on the Loop. My vacation began in unseasonably warm weather, but by this time in the trip, the local weather had returned to something closer to normal, which meant rain and cooler temperatures. I had intended to do some hiking in Rockport State Park this day, but was not inclined to do that in the chilly drizzle. Instead, I headed off to Anacortes, and from there traveled by ferry to Friday Harbor, part of the San Juan Islands.
I chose to leave my car parked in the ferry parking lot and was a walk-on passenger to the ferry. Since I was only intending to be in town for a few hours, and since Friday Harbor’s tourist center is built around the ferry terminal, I was able to shop and eat without having to do much walking. Unfortunately, this means that I had to miss seeing some of the other sights of the island, including beaches, the Cattle Point Lighthouse, and the San Juan Island National Historical Park, along with various parks, lakes, and trails. I would like to go back someday and tour not just San Juan Island and Friday Harbor, but also the other major islands in the chain.
Note: You can see full-size versions of these photos here.
A view of the Cascades from the ferry.
The first view of Friday Harbor from the ferry.
Another view of the island, this time off to the west.
A closer view of the harbor and the ships, still on the ferry.
Yay! We’re finally approaching the dock.
A view of the town from an adjacent pier.
Another view.
Note the seaplanes. They are a fairly popular, if pricy, way to visit the islands.
Heading back home again, passing another ferry and a boat.
Approaching Anacortes, where I spent the next two nights. It’s a lovely town, but perhaps not quite as photogenic as Friday Harbor was.
BretH
That ferry in the photo is huge! Were you on one of those?
Bodacious
Thank you so much for this travel highlight. My mother and Grandfather were born on Friday Harbor. It was such a special place and I feel grateful it remains special to those who visit. So much has changed, but still much to admire. Missing the cool weather blankets this area in the summer.
Dorothy A. Winsor
That’s beautiful scenery.
Hoodie
Love the PNW in summer. Just returned from a trip to BC where we took a 10 hour ferry from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island to Bella Coola on the Central Coast. Amazing scenery.
HinTN
I love the photograph “off to the west” because I prefer working boats to sailboats. Nothing against sailing, it’s just not my bag.
@Hoodie: The trip from Port Hardy to the Central Coast sounds great. For our 25th, Mrs H and I visited Vancouver city and island for almost three weeks. What a delightful part of the world. We drove up to Campbell River, but that’s a long way from PH. Have to go back!
Jonathan Holbert
Looks like you really enjoyed yourself! I don’t get out there enough. The ferry terminal is about an hour from here.
Albatrossity
Looks like you had a beautiful day for this trip. Thanks for the pics!
PaulB
Yup, the ferry I was on was virtually identical to the one I took a picture of. It was a beautiful day, thankfully, and quite a change from the state park I had intended to visit, which was gray, cloudy, drizzly, and dreary. I think I made the right choice. I do plan to go back, so stay tuned for another On the Road post. :-)
Friday Harbor is a charming town, but very much a self-consciously tourist town. It would be nice to go off the beaten track a bit.
frosty
We were there about two weeks ago and did the same thing: parked the car and went as passengers. To see the island we took the hop on hop off Jolly Trolley so we got an hour at the state park to (not) see the orcas and see the lighthouse
The trolley tours are touristy and kitschy but a good way to get a handle on a city on your first day, or to see a place without having to drive and find parking. We’ve done them several times, including boat tours of the Thames and Seine.
hitchhiker
My neck of the woods, & lovely to see it featured here in jackal-land. We’re on Whidbey Island, and we ride those ferries twice a week to see our grandkids. It never gets old.
wenchacha
Thanks for the Cascade Loop! Our daughter lives in Port Townsend area, works on boats. We’ve only been up there twice, but hope to make another visit soon.
The PNW truly is a beautiful part of these United States.
Sister Golden Bear
I’d planned to visit the Canadian Rockies the last week of August/first week of September, but that’s out because they’re on fire. But this is looking like a great alternative.
What’s the wildfire risk looking like for the Cascades? Either directly or in the path of smoke?
PaulB
We had some good soaking rain over the past couple of days, but I’m guessing that the risk is still relatively high, particularly in central Washington. Two sites that you can use to monitor activity: the Washington Smoke Information blog, which monitors both fires and air quality, and the wildfire dashboard at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Good luck on your trip!
frosty
@Sister Golden Bear: We were at North Cascades National Park a week or so ago. The Cascades Highway was closed eastbound out of the park due to a wildfire which is still going. We ended up leaving westbound to Seattle, then east on 2, also part of the Cascades Loop, so not a totally non-scenic drive.
There was a wildfire near Grand Coulee that closed the dam tour due to bad air quality. And another south of Coeur d’Alene that made all the beautiful views of the lake hazy. Make your plans and cross your fingers for luck.
StringOnAStick
@frosty: We’re headed to Whidby island in late September for the gypsy jazz festival; really looking forward to it!
StringOnAStick
@hitchhiker: Oops, my last comment was for you, the Whidby resident!
StringOnAStick
@Sister Golden Bear: Bend resident here; the Cascade smoke situation is hit or miss so it’s hard to plan around. The high heat hitting today and into next week is going to bring risk levels up and today we have a red flag warning so a new smoky fire can happen any minute unfortunately. In general I would plan trips here for earlier in the summer, by now the fire risk just keeps going up. Today the air is great, 5 days ago we almost hit 200.
KrackenJack
Thank you for the report Paul B!. It was an opportunity to reminisce about a couple of trips we’ve taken up there. We got up to Anacortes, but not out to the islands. Deception Pass was really scenic. We also spent a Christmas in Port Angeles. We got snow on Christmas Eve. Olympic NP was amazing even without leaving the road. We also did the ferry to Victoria as walk-ons.
Sister Golden Bear
@PaulB: Thanks!
Sister Golden Bear
@PaulB: @frosty: @StringOnAStick:
Thanks all. Sadly I agree I need to postpone this trip until next June.
Looking at Sequoia/Kings Canyon as an alternative—still definitely fire season risks, but at least I wouldn’t need to eat the coat of airfare if I cancel. However since I can do that in a long weekend, I might wait until Fall when things are less busy.
The other possibility is flying to Vancouver, and heading north along the coast. Need to investigate.
Dan B
@Sister Golden Bear: BC has also been having smoke. West of the Cascades is probably okay. The North Cascades are amazing west of the fire. Ross Lake, and gorgeous turquoise Diablo Lake, Cascade Pass, etc. And the San Juan Islands are amazing in Fall. Much of them are in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. We did a landscape installation with backhoe work on Blakely Island in December. The weather was great.