Frequent heat waves and worsening drought conditions threaten summer travel plans, and travelers flock to cool-weather destinations to beat the heat. The San Juan Islands in Washington State’s Salish Sea offer summer temperatures around 70 degrees and 247 days of sunshine every year. This is not the Pacific Northwest you think you know.
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Much of the country will bake this summer, and 170 million Americans suffered a record-setting heat wave in June. Travelers respond by shifting not only their destinations but also the timing of their vacations, moving activities to the nighttime and foregoing traditional hot-weather locales. The 2025 Virtuoso Luxe Report reveals increased demand for cool-weather destinations, dubbed coolcations.
Nordic countries lead the way on coolcations with a 263% year-over-year increase in bookings. But for domestic travelers, the San Juan Islands off Washington’s northwest tip offer pleasant weather, an outdoor mecca and a distinct sense of place without requiring you to exchange currency.
Uniquely Northwest
While Seattle is known for its grey skies and rainy days, the group of 172 named islands, collectively known as the San Juans, sits in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. This geographical good fortune means drier, sunnier weather year-round. That’s not the only difference between these two northwest neighbors.
San Juan Island is one of the big four islands in the chain, but around here, big is relative. The island’s population is fewer than 9,000.
Far from America, as islanders call the mainland, San Juan Island is proudly rural. The local land trust gobbles up as much open space as possible to protect it from development. If not for the Olympic Mountains standing majestically in the distance, you could mistake yourself for being in rural Minnesota.
It might look like the Midwest from the right angle, but San Juan Island blends rural life with social liberalism in a way that is uniquely its own. There are no traffic lights on the island, but the first thing you see when entering Griffin Bay Bookstore & Cafe is a display of banned books. John 3:16 is etched into a pasture fence, and Black Lives Matter signs dot yards across the island.
The undercurrent of place
This sense of place draws artists, retirees and families looking for a slower pace of life. It seduced Madrone Cellars founder Shaun Salamida into producing natural wines and ciders heavy on the terroir. When I visited San Juan Island, he led me to a bistro table under the shade of an apple tree and poured a sparkling cider made from the fruit of that very tree. It was light, tart and effervescent, much like San Juan Island itself.
Overhead, a bald eagle soared by. “Oh yeah,” Salamida acknowledged casually. “There are two nests in the trees there. They like to fish in this lake.”
Salamida is passionate about regenerative farming and sustainability, a throughline visitors encounter across the island. San Juan Island somehow manages to make it a cornerstone of island culture without feeling gimmicky. They are successful because it’s not for show. It’s just how people live.
Another heavy-hitter winery on the island, San Juan Vineyard, makes two white wines from island-grown grapes that thrive in cooler weather, madeleine angevine and siegerrebe. They serve up wine tastings in a restored 1895 schoolhouse, finding yet another way to embrace sustainability. Lest you worry your outdoorsy gear is too casual to wear to wine tastings, the vibe is as laid-back here as everywhere else on the island.
“The proximity to the ocean and northern latitude puts San Juan Vineyard on the edge of what can ripen vitis vinifera wine grapes. Because of that, we harvest fruit with high natural acidity and low potential alcohols,” shares Vineyard Operations Manager Todd Harrington. Despite the challenges, both San Juan Vineyard and Madrone Cellars produce exciting wines that distinctly ground you in the Puget Sound AVA.
The local ecosystem also inspires Oystertale owner Ashley Rech. Rech sources most of their ingredients within 50 miles of the restaurant, like the area’s best goat cheese from Sunnyfield Farm on nearby Lopez Island.
Oystertale incorporates Sunnyfield Farm’s goat cheese into zippy savory waffles. “Sometimes the farmers will call me and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got a ton of beautiful strawberries. Can you use them somehow?’” Rech recalls with enthusiasm. The conversation is not hypothetical; those strawberries smother the waffle, perfectly complementing the creaminess of the goat cheese.
Pride in the land and sea extends everywhere here, from the joyful greetings at Westcott Bay Shellfish Co. to the satisfaction radiating from Western Prince Whale and Wildlife Tours owner Ivan Reiff at the prospect of another day on the water searching for whales with a group of excited tourists. With so much natural abundance, it’s hard to find a reason to be unhappy.
At every turn, the island whispers to you to go outside. Take the Earthbox Inn & Spa, a two-star motel a stone’s throw from Friday Harbor, the island’s main town. Verdant landscaping and plentiful patios belie clean but spartan interiors. Why bother with the furnishings when the whole point here is to be out of doors?
The hardest part is getting there
Perhaps the only wrinkle in the experience is that of actually getting there. Like most good things, a visit to San Juan Island is worth the wait. Due to its location, visitors should know there will be some waiting.
Travelers most commonly fly into Seattle or Everett, rent a car and catch a ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor. The trip from Seattle can take around five hours, including the hour you must spend in line to board your ferry.
Ferries come frequently, but Washington’s ferry system, the largest in the country, has run on reduced capacity since 2019. Washington governor Bob Ferguson promises the ferry system will be at full capacity by the 2026 World Cup, when Seattle will host six matches.
Ferry reservations for vehicles book up quickly, and planning ahead is essential. You will get the most out of your experience with a car, but don’t let a lack of availability stop you. Tickets are released in tranches, and 10% are set aside for vehicles without a reservation. Set a calendar reminder for the best chance of reserving a slot in July and August.
Unlike vehicle spots, walk-on ferry tickets do not require reservations. Once on the island, the delightfully named Friday Harbor Jolly Trolley offers hop-on, hop-off access to the island’s major attractions. Bike and moped rentals also give car-free visitors options, perfect for exploring scenic cycling routes like the San Juan Byway.
A new take on summer
From hand-drawn signs imploring drivers to slow down for baby foxes to the incongruous rose bushes flanking the auto body shop facade, San Juan Island is a place unto itself. It makes no excuses and gives no explanations. It simply welcomes visitors and expects them to integrate into the rhythms of the island.
Long summer days and cool temperatures entice travelers intrepid enough to decode the ferry system. Not everyone will get a spot, and locals don’t mind the natural rate-limiting that the ferry offers. They happily show around the visitors who find their way to the island. Just don’t forget your sweater.
Ashley Wali is a Seattle-based travel journalist and curator of Wanderlux, specializing in luxury family travel, sports tourism and wellness travel. She shares stress-free family trip planning advice to make luxury travel affordable and approachable.