Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the south end of the island. At both camps, you can visit historic buildings that
are much as they might have looked in 1859.
If you're interested in island history, stop by the San Juan Historical Museum,
405 Price St. ( & 360/378-3949; www.sjmuseum.org), which is housed in an
1894 farmhouse and also includes several other historic buildings on its grounds.
May to September the museum is open Thursday through Saturday from 10am to
4pm and Sunday from 1 to 4pm; October, March, and April the museum is open
Saturday from 1 to 4pm. Open by appointment in other months. Admission is $2
for adults, $1 for children ages 6 to 18; free to children under 6.
Friday Harbor is also home to quite a few good art galleries and other interest-
ing shops. At Waterworks Gallery, Argyle and Spring streets ( & 360/378-3060;
www.waterworksgallery.com), you'll find fine art and contemporary crafts by local
and regional artists. At Arctic Raven Gallery, 1 Front St. ( & 360/378-3433 ),
you'll find contemporary Native American arts and crafts. At The Garuda & I,
60 First St. ( & 360/378-3733 ), you'll find fascinating imported items from
throughout the world, with an emphasis on Asian imports.
If you need some wine for your vacation or want to take some home with you,
be sure to stop by the tasting room at Island Wine Company, 2 Cannery Land-
ing ( & 360/378-3229; www.sanjuancellars.com), which is the only place you
can buy San Juan Cellars wines (made with grapes from eastern Washington).
You'll find the wine shop on the immediate left as you leave the ferry.
SEEING THE REST OF THE ISLAND
Most of the island's main attractions can be seen on a long loop drive around
the perimeter of the island. Start the drive by following Roche Harbor signs
north out of Friday Harbor (take Spring St. to Second St. to Tucker Ave.). In
about 3 miles, you'll come to San Juan Vineyards , 3136 Roche Harbor Rd.
( & 360/378-9463; www.sanjuanvineyards.com), which makes wines both from
grapes grown off the island and from its own estate-grown Siegerrebe and Made-
line Angevine grapes. The tasting room is housed in an old schoolhouse built in
1896 and is open daily 11am to 5pm in summer (spring and fall Wed-Sun
11am-5pm; by appointment in other months).
A little farther north, you come to Roche Harbor Resort, once the site of
large limestone quarries that supplied lime to much of the West Coast. Today
many of the quarries' old structures are still visible, giving this area a decaying
industrial look, but amidst the abandoned machinery stands the historic Hotel
de Haro, a simple whitewashed wooden building with verandas across its two
floors. Stop and admire the old-fashioned marina and colorful gardens. The
deck of the hotel's lounge is one of the best places on the island to linger over a
drink. In an old pasture on the edge of the resort property, you'll find the West-
cott Bay Reserve ( & 360/370-5050; www.wbay.org), a sculpture park that
includes more than 85 works of art set in grassy fields and along the shores of a
small pond. Back in the woods near the resort you'll find an unusual mau-
soleum that was erected by the founder of the quarries and the Hotel de Haro.
South of Roche Harbor, on West Valley Road, you'll find English Camp. Set
amid shady trees and spacious lawns, the camp is the picture of British civility.
There's even a formal garden surrounded by a white picket fence. You can look
inside the reconstructed buildings and imagine the days when this was one of
the most far-flung corners of the British Empire. If you're full of energy, hike up
to the top of 650-foot Mount Young for a panorama of the island. An easier
hike is out to the end of Bel Point.
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