Camping Near the San Juan ISlands

[FFWIFE50]

We are taking a two night kayak ing trip off the San Juan islands in August and are looking for a place to park our rig while we are gone as well as to tour the area. We have a 35 ft motor home with three slides and it seems like everyplace I find says we are too big?

[StevenMarla]

I live on the Orcas Island, San Juan's. You all are pretty accurate with info. WA State Ferry RV fees are based on length and height and number of passengers. Were in tourist season so fees are a premium. Bring your rv if your wallet can afford it but for just a short visit it may not be.

There is parking at the ferry landing for a fee. The various lots should have accommodations for your 35 ft er.

I'm happy to help if any of you or the OP has further questions.

[jamesu]

winnietrey wrote:

FFWIFE50 wrote:
Can we take the rv over to a island?

.

You can, but those ferries are small on that run. So wait times can be brutal. As in hours and hours esp in the summer.

I would guess you are jumping off from Friday Harbor or Lopez?

You may consider Just walking on. After a 2 day Kayak trip, you will have pretty much have gotten the best part of the Islands. So driving around may not add that much for you

I feel a need to clarify here: the ferries on the San Juan Island runs are not small...those are the big ones. The size of the ferries does not dictate wait times on these runs. The popularity of the San Juans does. I have waited 4+ hours at the Anacortes and the Orcas Island terminals in the past.

We found a cool opportunity the last time we took relatives to Friday Harbor (San Juan Island). We avoided wait times by walking on in Anacortes, got off at Friday Harbor, walked up the main street to the top of the hill and we rented a car for the day. When we finished our island tour we returned the car, the attendant drove us down to the ferry landing, and we walked onto the next ferry. From the look of the car lineups I believe wait times that day were 2-3 hours to get back to Anacortes.

Cost? The rental was $25 plus gas, which my brother and I split. Not sure if you could do this on Orcas or Lopez Islands, but it worked for on San Juan.

This saved is time and money. A great day with no ferry waits.

[milo]

Morning... FWIW DW & I have for the last 9 late summers/early falls have made the trek over to San Juan Island both with our RV and without it. If you'd like to PM me & give me the particulars of your trip, see if I could help you & also I would be glad to discussion what we have been able to do when we take the trailer across & what we have to do to leave it on the mainland,

Milo

[FFWIFE50]

Thanks for a All the information' I will check everything out

[winnietrey]

Deception pass from my experience is pretty tight in a lot of sites). Might be difficult to make a res at that time of year, in a larger site at this late date.

The ferry ride is beautifull and a must do in my opinion. But kind of a off the wall thought, you could walk on the ferry and take a flost plane back (SanJuan airlines) that would be kind of a cool adventure

[Francesca_Knowl]

Well, we don't know for sure but since the O.P. has a motorhome I'm going to assume there's also a toad, and that's what will be getting them to the kayak trip jumping off point. There's parking at the ferry landing if they want to walk on, though I'm not sure how long vehicles can be left there. And if they drive on they'll likely still have to wait in line, but it might be for a shorter time than with the moho. Though I believe those are first-come-first-served just like everyone else.

My recommendation in that case for a land-access home base would be Deception Pass State Park. Only fifteen minutes from Anacortes, in a gorgeous location, and likely to accommodate the rig.

Reservations recommended- it's one of the most popular Parks in the State.

[ScottG]

No problem taking the RV to an island but ferry fee's can be stiff. You can check out how much they will be on the Washington State ferries web site: Link

Also for some routes it's best to make a reservation for your particular crossing.

[winnietrey]

FFWIFE50 wrote:
Can we take the rv over to a island?

.

You can, but those ferries are small on that run. So wait times can be brutal. As in hours and hours esp in the summer.

I would guess you are jumping off from Friday Harbor or Lopez?

You may consider Just walking on. After a 2 day Kayak trip, you will have pretty much have gotten the best part of the Islands. So driving around may not add that much for you

[Francesca_Knowl]

FFWIFE50 wrote:
Can we take the rv over to a island?

Sure- but if you're over 80,000 pounds you'll need a special permit.

Just joshin' ya- I know you're not that big. Point is, ferries on Puget Sound are part of the WS highway system and they can accommodate just about anything on the road.

Here's a link to an info page for the Anacortes/San Juan Islands run.

[FFWIFE50]

Can we take the rv over to a island?

[Francesca_Knowl]

FFWIFE50 wrote:
We are taking a two night kayak ing trip off the San Juan islands in August and are looking for a place to park our rig while we are gone as well as to tour the area. We have a 35 ft motor home with three slides and it seems like everyplace I find says we are too big?

What's your kayak trip jumping off point? Does distance from that point matter (toad?)? Do you want to leave the rig on the mainland or on one of the islands?

[Ivylog]

I "tied down" at the local airport waiting to get into Washington Park CG near the ferry terminal. I'm sure they would let you park at the airport and for two days you do not need hookups. Swinomish casino is half way back to I-5.

[Tom_Barb]

The Swinomish casino on Hwy 20 has camping as well as the Bayview State park north of 20 in Bayview.

There also a camp ground just a few feet south of Deception Pass state park that will take you.

[enblethen]

Fidalgo Bay Resort, close to Anacortes, but also close to oil refineries(smelly)Fidalgo bay
Washington Park close to ferry terminal to San Juans. 360 293-1927 Doesn't have much.