San Juan Islands in September
 

Along with another couple, my husband and I have rented a vacation home on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands in September. We've always wanted to go, and we're doing our research, but what are the sites, restaurants, and experiences that we shouldn't miss?

For hiking we enjoyed Turtleback Mountain and Moran State Park. There aren't too many places to eat outside of the little village of Eastsound and we were there in off season so half of them were closed for the season but I remember the pastries at Brown Bear Bakery were good and we enjoyed our meals at Roses Bakery Cafe and Mijitas. In September there should be more options. A local chef from our area took over the Orcas Hotel & Cafe by the ferry landing last year so that might be worth a try.

San Juan Iskands in September
 

We were there last week for 6 nights -splitting our time on San Juan Island and Orcas Island. I am assuming you have a car so I would recommend taking the inter island ferry over to San Juan Island for the day. There is no ferry charge between islands. The San Juan Brewery is up the street from the ferry landing and it has great crafts beer and pub food. Another place to check out is Roche Resort. Beautiful marina and it has two restaurants, Madrona Grill (outdoor patio) and McMillans (dinners only) with nice views. There is a wonderful Sculpture Park next to Roche Resort that has amazing art installed through out the property. Also, hiking up Mt. Constitution and around mountain lake is great.. You can also drive up to Mt. Constitution if hiking isn’t an option. There is also Lime Kiln Park where sometimes if you get lucky you can see orca whales. There is American and English camps and also South beach. There is a new 3 mile loop trail around Zylstra Lake Preserve (middle of island) that opened last year. It’s a beautiful walk through farmlands and great place for birding.

On Orcas Island, there isn’t to many places for fine dining except at the Rosario Resort. I think the best place for dinner is at New Leaf cafe in the Outlook Inn. During this visit they were only open for brunch. Hopefully, they will be open for dinner by your visit, The only downside is they don’t take reservations so you might have a wait for brunch. This year we brought food with us for our breakfasts. The line for the Bear Bakery is long in the mornings. There is a grocery store (Island Market?) in East Sound. We did discover a cute little Irish pub called White Horse that is in East Sound that is upstairs and has a nice view of the water and little “Indian Island”. They also had a few tables outside but wear warm clothes as you are next to the water and it can get chilly. We had a nice little happy hour there and enjoyed a delightful Irish pear hard cider and delicious crab dip appetizer. Enjoy the San Juan islands!