Great Destinations

The San Juan Islands encompass the American owned southern islands of the Salish Sea located between the Washington State coast and Canada’s Vancouver Island. Of the 37 islands in the collection, four are serviced by the Washington State Ferry system and have public attractions. Of those four Orcas, Lopez, and San Juan island attract the most visitors.

To the north lie the Canadian Gulf Islands. This collection of over 200 islands is broken down into the North Islands and the Southern Islands. The traditional distinction is based on an imaginary line drawn between the city of Nanaimo on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, BC and the mouth of the Fraser River on the Canadian mainland.