I'm going on a last minute, one week trip to Blaine, WA the first week of May. Staying seven nights in a time share along the beach. I'll have a car.

I realize there's not much happening in the town of Blaine itself. I'm looking for suggestions for reasonable day trips. I will be returning to Blaine each night.

Here's some I am considering:
- Anacortes to Friday Harbor, round trip, via WA ferry - with or without my car? can I stop and visit each of the islands along the way? other than scenery, anything a "must see"?
- Tsawwassen to Victoria/Vancouver Island, round trip via BC ferry - suggestions for things to see on the island other than Buchart Gardens?
- Drive the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler
- A day in Vancouver, visiting the gardens

Any other ideas?

Any suggestions for whale watching - spots on land or places to take a boat tour?

I will not be visiting the city of Seattle this trip.

All suggestions welcome. Thanks

You are right, there really isn't anything in Blaine.

It is about an hour to Vancouver, so that is easy for a day trip.

It is about 2 1/2 hours each way to Whistler and a good 3 hours each way to Victoria. These last two are really limiting as it just doesn't leave much time for exploring, especially as you ask about other things on the island. If you do this day trip, I would stick to the gardens and Victoria itself. BTW, the gardens are stunning in May! The Royal BC Museum in Victoria is not to be missed, and Beacon Hill Park is wonderful for wandering. The downtown/harbour area of Victoria is ok, but nothing that I would make a day trip for unless you add in these other things. I would suggest staying at least one night so you can explore further north a bit.

Friday Harbor is about 3 hours each way. Again, I think too much for a day trip, mostly because after you arrive, then you need to drive to explore more places. Again, if you can stay one night that would make a huge difference.

I'll comment on some of your list...

- Anacortes to Friday Harbor, round trip, via WA ferry - with or without my car? can I stop and visit each of the islands along the way? other than scenery, anything a "must see"?

Given it's May and the possibility of rain can't be disregarded, I'd probably take the car, although of course it will cost more. In just one day, I'd probably just head to San Juan Island, mainly because there are (IMO) more interesting sites grouped fairly close to one another. I'd visit picturesque Roche Harbor, Lime Kiln Point State Park (for its lighthouse and good chance of seeing some orcas at very close range) and the "Pig War" camps - American and English camps. If you wanted to add another island (and watch the ferry schedules) I'd probably pick Lopez for its laid back feel and pastoral scenery, although Orcas Island, being the biggest, also has quite a variety of landscapes. But you could also just spend the whole day on San Juan and have a fine time of it.

- Tsawwassen to Victoria/Vancouver Island, round trip via BC ferry - suggestions for things to see on the island other than Buchart Gardens?

From Blaine, this is a very long day trip, and given the price of the BC ferries, an expensive one. While Butchart Gardens is quite lovely, it's also very expensive, especially when you can visit the Queen Elizabeth Park gardens in Vancouver for free. I'm not saying that the QE Park gardens are the equal of Butchart, but they're really good, and if you add a visit to the very cool Bloedel Conservatory (in the same park, but small admission fee, worth it for the tropical plants and birds) and/or a visit to the nearby Van Dusen Botanical Gardens... well, it should more than satisfy your desires to see flowers and growing things.

- Drive the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler

A lovely drive, potentially a long day, and be advised it's a late spring so things might still be a little wintry in Whistler.

- A day in Vancouver, visiting the gardens

See above. I would do this, maybe even twice, including the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese garden in downtown Vancouver.

Any other ideas? Any suggestions for whale watching - spots on land or places to take a boat tour?

I mentioned Lime Kiln Point on San Juan Island as the best place to see orcas from land. At the moment there's quite a lot of concern in the region that too much boat traffic is stressing the local orca pods, raising health concerns. If you must go whale chasing, there are a couple of operators in Friday Harbor that I'd investigate.

Other ideas, google these.

- Drive down to Deception Pass (gap between Fidalgo Island/Anacortes and Whidbey Island.) This is a stunning place; look at tide tables - https://tides.mobilegeographics.com/...y=2019&m=5&d=6 - and if you see a "minus tide" - where the low tide has a minus sign before it, try to visit half way between the high and low tide, when the flow of water through the channel can be downright scary - quite spectacular. The state park is wonderful, both from the bridge and beach levels, at any time. Visit the nearby waterfront village of La Conner while you're in the area - very picturesque.

- Visit the historic Fairhaven district of Bellingham, and drive down Chuckanut Drive (WA 11) which is a very pretty road winding along the cliffs over the water. You can combine this with a visit to Deception Pass. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/fSYiqx18ros

- Visit Lummi Island and have a mid-day meal at the Willows Inn, Driving Map ? Lummi Island and https://www.willows-inn.com/ Read this - https://www.seattletimes.com/life/fo...taurants-list/

- Spend some time in some of Vancouver's less publicized areas. Google Lynn Canyon suspension bridge, dim sum in Richmond, Steveston Harbour, the Punjab street market, Jericho and Spanish Banks beaches, the fun Kerrisdale district...

- Visit the very cool Spark Museum of Electrical Invention in Bellingham. Major "sleeper" attraction. https://www.sparkmuseum.org/

- Visit weird and funky Point Roberts, WA, accessible only by transiting a few miles of Canada. Have fish and chips on the White Rock Promenade, or at lovely Crescent Beach. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/mokUFGRtsHU2

- Eat pancakes (pannenkoeken) and other Dutch delights (?) near the big windmill in Lynden, WA. If it's a nice day, a trans-border drive through the beautiful Fraser Valley is also a fine route - https://www.hellobc.com/stories/day-...fraser-valley/

- If you get a clear day, drop everything and drive up as far as you can on WA 542, the Mount Baker Highway, which WSDOT says is open as far as Artist Point and Picture Lake, with THE best view in all of the North Cascades, e.g.



Hope this helps...

Gardyloo--The road up to Artist Point is not open yet. Typically that is closed through June and opens in July. I will say that snowshoeing from Mt Baker ski area up to Artist Point is doable though, and an amazing one at that. We did that and snow camped up at Huntoon point about 2 months ago.

Here is a link showing where the closure is.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/m...431&width=full

Apparently you can get to Picture Lake but not to Artist Point. But remember the OP is traveling in 3 weeks or so.

Yes, but that stretch of the road does not open until late June/\early July so still won't be accessible.

Many thanks Gardyloo and mms - very helpful

Please help with ferry costs - do I understand you pay per person and a separate fee for the vehicle, each way?

Gardyloo - great photo.

mms - where can i find a trail map for the Mt Baker ski area to Artist Point hike? is it doable with cleats instead of snowshoes? Cleat are much easier to pack...

Here is a link to the snowshoe details. Scroll down and on the left is a link for the trail map itself. For this trail, you go to the Heather Meadows parking lot of the ski area and park along the rock wall. Then head towards the ski area (there is an outhouse there too) and just head up that way, staying to the right. There are signs to keep you out of the ski area, but after that no signs. Artist Point is nice, but the views from Huntoon Point are even better. We snow camped at HP and sunset and sunrise there were beyond stunning! I would not do cleats as that won't help further up. If you don't want to pack them, just rent before you head up.

https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/...point-snowshoe

Also, this description of the snowshoe explains the road a bit and how it is closed at Heather Meadows on up.

Here is the link for BC Ferries: https://www.bcferries.com/ and the Washington State ferries: https://www.wsdot.com/ferries/schedule/?

So, as an example, Tsawwassen to Victoria (actually Swartz Bay, about a half hour drive north of Victoria), is $57.50 for the car and $17.20 for each person. That is Canadian $, each way.

Mt Baker at sunset from Huntoon Point

Mt Shuksan

Beautiful images, mms.

goingthere2--These are a few of our pics from the end of January this year. It gives you an idea of how vast the area is and pictures do not do it justice. It really is a sight to see! While we camped up there, there were many day trippers as well, and many either came for sunrise or sunset.

Thank you, Gardyloo

The mountains here are definitely my happy place!

Amazing pictures, MMS. You are inspiring.

Thank you goingthere2 and 5alive

If anyone is interested, this area has some amazing backpacking for later in the summer as well. Lake Ann does not disappoint and has a view of Shuksan from the other side.