Summer kayaking in the San Juan Islands - getting there via ferry

   The club is in wintertime-research-mode - preparing for a multi-day San Juan Island adventure this summer (see our earlier post from the Islands). Our plan for now is to leave our car on the mainland and take a boat from Anacortes or Bellingham to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. I say boat because we may approach a few local charters and see if we can hitch a ride (that would be sweeeet). Taking the Washington state ferry is our other option - it's what we took last month when we set out to explore San Juan Island by car.

   The ferry ride from Anacortes to San Juan Island (where we want to start our summer adventure) takes just over an hour. We tested it out over Veterans Day weekend last month, leaving on a Sunday and coming back on Monday. We had no problem with crowds while getting on - we arrived about 10 minutes ahead of time and made it right on (I'm sure this wouldn't be the case in the summer). We noticed a nice parking lot here too - almost fenced in - probably not a bad place to leave a car (it costs $20 to leave it here for a week). The ferry ride costs about $50 (roundtrip fare to San Juan Island for car & two passengers). 
   The plan in the summer is to leave a car  on the mainland and head as passengers to Friday Harbor (on San Juan Island), take all of our gear with us (our Innova kayaks pack small) & paddle back, camping along the way back to the terminal & our car.

   Things we still need to figure out - what's it like to leave the car for a week or so at the ferry terminal? Is it safe? Would leaving it at the Bellingham marina be better? (we read of a passenger ferry that leaves Bellingham in the summer). Can we fit two kayaks plus all of our camping gear on us to walk on as passengers in the first place? Will people look at us like we're crazy when we walk on with giant packs full of kayaking goodies {yes they will - kinda like they did when we hiked to Lake Serene for a paddle}. Will they be jealous when they learn of our plans {yes}. Should we fly to the islands via seaplane from Seattle?

   Can we do it? {We must!} The planning continues...     ~Paul & Amber      ETC

P.S. A few links:
Cascadia Marine Trail from www.thesanjuans.com 
Washington Water Trails Association {we just joined to gain access to printable maps!}
Anacortes Ferry Terminal