A whale of a vacation: San Juan Islands in Washington are the place to see orcas, enjoy other land, sea adventures

Akron Beacon Journal (MCT) - Our whale-watching cruise was turning up porpoises and dolphins. Bald eagles, too. But no orcas.

The black-and-white orcas are the stars of the show in the San Juan Islands, jewels of the Pacific Northwest and a popular tourist destination tucked at the north end of Puget Sound between Seattle and Vancouver.

Three pods or family groups of orcas, also known as killer whales, feed on migrating salmon and summer around the archipelago that is known for sailing, kayaking, bicycling, diving, hiking and just relaxing.

The only orca I would spot was the life-size model hanging from the ceiling of the small but first-rate Orca Museum in downtown Friday Harbor, the main community on San Juan, the biggest of the islands. I could also listen to orca vocalizations and view photographs and skeletons in the two-story museum.

On the west coast of San Juan Island lies 36-acre Lime Kiln Point State Park (360-378-2044). It proclaims itself to be the best spot on land from which to view orcas in Pods J, K and L from late spring to early fall.

Its vistas from the rocky shore across the Haro Strait to Canada are impressive, and it draws big crowds of people. Its 1919 lighthouse is picturesque and the park offers a mini-orca museum. But no orcas during our June visit.

A tip: If you see whale-watching boats from Lime Kiln Point, the orcas are around and might turn up surprisingly close to shore. Bring binoculars and spotting scopes. What you are looking for are puffs of water in the air from the whales' exhaling from their blow holes, and black dorsal fins that stick up to seven feet out of the water.

With luck, you might see the powerful and graceful orcas leap out of the water, or ''spy hop'' or rise 6 feet out of the water as if to look around.

Orcas, related to dolphins, not whales, are social animals. The males may be 30 feet long and weigh 10 tons; the females are 25 feet long and weigh seven tons. The females might live 90 years; the males, 60 years. They eat 200 pounds of salmon a day.

A year ago, there were 90 orcas in the three pods. But seven disappeared and are presumed dead. That brought the population to 83. It is the biggest decline in orcas since 1999, when seven also disappeared.

The population is believed to have reached 140 or so in the 1900s. They were listed as endangered in 2005.

In addition to the resident pods, transient orcas will occasionally pass through the San Juan Islands. They are more apt to eat seals than salmon, but little is known about such visitors.

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It's clear that people in the San Juan Islands love their orcas, the signature creatures of the Pacific Northwest.

Orca watching might be one of the most popular activities, but there's a lot more going on in the islands. Even getting there is a big part of the adventure.

You can fly there, but most travelers arrive via Washington State Ferry from Anacortes, a town 78 miles north of Seattle. The ferry runs westbound about 10 times a day.

The ferries are large, with lots of people, trucks, cars, bicycles and kayaks. The lines to board can be long, especially on summer weekends. People are advised to arrive in line two hours before sailings.

Finding island lodging at peak times can be tough. It is a pricey place with resorts, small hotels, bed-and-breakfast inns, and campgrounds.

Some have proclaimed the 65-minute cruise to Friday Harbor to be the most scenic ferry ride in the world. That's high praise, but it's hard not to be impressed with the forested islands and snow-capped mountains in the distance. The ferry route is a designated scenic byway.

About 450 of the San Juan Islands have names and about 60 are occupied. The number of islands depends on whether it's high or low tide, when more are visible. The ferries stop at only four islands: San Juan, Orcas, Lopez and Shaw.

Part of the appeal is that the San Juan Islands are sunnier (247 days a year) and get half the rain that nearby Seattle gets. That's because the islands lie in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains.

San Juan Island is dominated by Friday Harbor, with its inns, bed and breakfasts, restaurants with fresh seafood and shops catering to tourists. There is a parking shortage at peak times.

Some claim that Friday Harbor with its 1,700 residents has become too touristy, with galleries, boutiques, spas and espresso machines, but I found it a charming and picturesque place.

My daughter, Katie, said it is a West Coast version of Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket, with less snobbishness and a more rural setting outside Friday Harbor.

San Juan Island has 7,000 residents and is 16 ˝ miles by 6 ˝ miles. It is a prosperous island, with growing numbers of private seaside retreats. It is hard to get lost and you don't have to be in a hurry to get anywhere. The island has developed a laid-back, California-style country living cool vibe and features a quirky mixture of colorful characters. It is lightly settled and home to great beauty and wild pockets of forest and coast.

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Two big attractions of San Juan Island are the military camps set up by the United States and Great Britain in what is called the Pig War. In 1859, Lyman Cutlar, an American farmer on the island, shot and killed a British pig that was rooting in his garden. At that time, the two countries were vying for control of the island chain.

The Hudson Bay Co. threatened Cutlar's arrest by British authorities. The Americans responded by dispatching 400 troops under Capt. George Pickett (of Civil War fame). An American camp was set up on the island's south side. The British sent warships and 2,000 soldiers, sailors and marines. They were based 15 miles to the north on Garrison Bay.

The two sides faced off for 12 years. No shots were ever fired. In 1872, German Kaiser Wilhelm I, acting as arbitrator, ended the dispute and awarded the islands to the United States.

Today you can tour both camps: Four buildings including a blockhouse and a small formal garden have been restored at the British Camp on the island's northwest corner. Two old buildings survive at the 1,752-acre American Camp on the southern tip.

For information, contact the San Juan Island National Historic Park, P.O. Box 429, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, 360-378-2902, http://www.nps.gov/sajh.

The island also features lavender farms (you can sample lavender lemonade in Friday Harbor), alpaca farms and a shellfish farm where you can purchase fresh-from-the-water mussels, oysters and clams for a picnic.

There are bike rental shops and lots of outfitters in Friday Harbor offering paddling trips and, yes, those orca cruises that claim a 90 percent success rate.

Some proclaim horseshoe-shaped Orcas Island to be the most beautiful in the chain. It is the hilliest and features fjord-like inlets. The community of Eastbound is more artsy than Friday Harbor. The island has 4,500 residents.

San Juan and Orcas with its 2,409-foot Mount Constitution offer challenges to bicyclists, but flatter Lopez Island is very popular with cyclists. Shaw Island is not big, but is easy pedaling on rural roads. Moran State Park on Orcas Island (360-376-2326) has more than 30 miles of hiking trails.

Lopez Island with its 2,100 people is laid back and known for its friendliness. Shaw Island with 200 residents has few amenities for tourists.

For tourist information, contact the San Juan Islands Visitor Information Service, P.O. Box 1330, 640 Mullis No. 210, Friday Harbor, WA 98250; 360-468-3663 or 888-468-3701; http://www.guidetosanjuans.com.

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For information about the Whale Museum, write to 62 First St. N., Friday Harbor, WA 98250; 800-946-7227; http://www.whale-museum.org. For ferry information, see http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferriesor call 888-808-7977 or 206-464-6400.

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Bob Downing: bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com

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© 2009, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).