A Quintessential Washington Adventure: Ferry Day to the San Juan Islands
Yesterday we took friends we met on the road on a quintessential Washington adventure day: taking a ferry to the San Juan Islands.
August 9th, 2026
Yesterday we took friends we met on the road on a quintessential Washington adventure day: taking a ferry to the San Juan Islands.
August 9th, 2026
Yesterday we took friends we met on the road on a quintessential Washington adventure day: taking a ferry to the San Juan Islands. Our friends are from Florida and had never experienced a Washington State Ferry before. We were delighted to share one of our favorite parts of Washington with them on a perfect summer day.
Walk-on passengers don't need ferry reservations, so we made a plan the night before to meet at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal on Saturday morning. Parking at the ferry terminal for the day costs $13. Be sure to allow for extra time to walk from the upland parking lot down to the ferry terminal.
Once we bought our tickets at the terminal ($18 round trip for walk-on adult passengers, kids under 18 are free!) we played on the beach for a few minutes while we waited for the ferry.
The ride from Anacortes to Friday Harbor is a little over an hour long, and we got a bonus ten minutes, needing to take a different route due to sailboat traffic. The views from the ferry were spectacular. We had a lot of wildfire smoke earlier in the week, but it completely cleared yesterday, giving us stunning views of Mount Baker from the ferry. We spotted seals, salmon, jellies, cormorants, gulls, and eagles from the boat. Binoculars are highly recommended!
Once we got to the island, we were all hungry for lunch, and instead of spending several hundred dollars going out to a restaurant as a group of nine, we decided to stop by Kings Market to pick up some things for a picnic lunch. Kings Market has a salad bar, a hot bar, and a variety of hot soups, and everyone was able to get something they wanted.
We then walked a block to Overlook Park, which has a picnic table and several benches overlooking the harbor. This is our favorite way to enjoy lunch with a view without the restaurant price tag.
After lunch we spent some time in The Whale Museum next door. Adult admission is $13, youth 6-18 is $6, and children 5 and under are free. We happened to be there for Museum Day and got an extra $10 off our total admission fee. This small museum contains lots of whale and marine mammal skeletons and is great for both kids and adults.
From the museum we walked a couple blocks to San Juan Brewing Co. We sat outside in the beer garden and enjoyed a drink while the kids colored and played tag in the grass. The beer garden has beers and cider on tap, wine and prosecco, and a variety of non-alcoholic drinks that the kids enjoyed as well.
We took an evening ferry ride back to Anacortes, and the views as the sun went down were possibly even more amazing than they were earlier in the day. The deck gets chilly once it's in the shade, so be sure to bring an extra layer if you plan on sitting outside.
Days like this are exactly why we love sharing life on the road with the friends we meet along the way. It didn't take an elaborate itinerary or a big budget — just a ferry, a picnic, a small museum, and a beer garden — to give our Florida friends a taste of what makes Washington summers so special. If you're looking for a low-key, budget-friendly day trip that still feels like a real adventure, the Anacortes-to-Friday Harbor ferry run is hard to beat.