Great Hikes On San Juan Island

If you want to wear hiking boots, experience some history, and see views that take your breath away, tackle Young Hill. Situated at the north end of the island, the 650-foot summit offers unmatched panoramas of San Juan, Canada’s Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island, and beyond. Pick up the trailhead across the road from English Camp, occupied by the British in 1860 and find traces of its history on Mount Young itself—watch for the 1860s Royal Marine Cemetery.

From the parking lot at English Camp, find the trail in the eastern corner of the lot and head southeast. At the first branch in the trail, stay right, and the trail will start climbing almost immediately. Cross San Juan Valley Road at 0.3 miles. and continue until you see a signed path leading to the English Camp cemetery. This piece of history is worth a stop as you ascend or descend Young Hill. A memorial to seven Royal Marines who died on the island in the 1860s, this cemetery is surrounded by gnarled Garry Oaks that are part of an ongoing restoration project.

After your side trip to the cemetery, head back to the main trail and continue climbing. You will reach your first viewpoint at 0.8 miles with an informative plaque naming some geographic features visible on a clear day. Keep climbing, and at 1.0 miles reach the summit, with spectacular views of the Salish Sea and surrounding islands. If you’ve brought lunch, settle down and enjoy some of the best views in the area. You have the world at your feet.

You can also hike from English Camp to Westcott Bay Shellfish Farm, through lush forests and along the water.

Spend a little time on San Juan Island and you’re almost certain to hear about "The Pig War," which in 1859 led to a 12-year joint British/U.S. occupation of the island while the two nations argued over who owned the San Juans. The Royal Marines lived at English Camp, at the north end of the island, and a few buildings, a formal garden, and a cemetery remain from their time here.

Today, this beautiful day-use park on the shores of Garrison Bay includes a small, seasonal visitors’ center and trails that range from a fairly strenuous hike up Young Hill to the cemetery and beyond to an easier 45-minute loop through woodland and along the bay. On Saturdays from June through August, park rangers and volunteers recreate some of the skills of military and civilian life during the island’s early pioneer period; for an entire weekend in July, the park hosts a reenactment of life in the mid-19th-century camp.

Accessibility

English Camp is currently not very accessible, but the park plans to make improvements. Access to the historic parade grounds is down a steep gravel trail and over thick grass and uneven ground. The trail system has a few steep and rocky sections. Visitors who use wheelchairs and mobility aids will likely have difficulty navigating the terrain. You may be able to request a golf cart shuttle during the summer from May-September. 

• Parking: There is a paved parking lot with two designated accessible spots. However, the parking lot is on a steep slope and the accessible spots do not meet current guidelines, so visitors using wheelchairs may have difficulty. The transition from the parking area to the trailhead has a two-inch threshold and exposed rocks in the surface.
• Amenities: Vault toilets are located behind the parking area. No water is available. The old barracks serve as a seasonal visitor center, but the building can only be accessed by narrow stairs. 

Also known as Whale Watch Park, Lime Kiln Point State Park is a 36-acre day-use park with an iconic lighthouse set on the west side of San Juan Island. You may see orca whales swimming through the kelp beds in the waters off Lime Kiln, looking for salmon, since this park is considered one of the best places in the world to view whales from land. The shoreline viewpoint is about a 300-yard walk from the parking lot, restrooms, and seasonal interpretive center.

The park, which features a richly diverse environment, includes the remnants and landscapes of a history filled with change, along the rocky shoreline and through the wooded uplands. Minke whales, porpoises, seals, sea lions, otters and bald eagles also cruise the shoreline. The lighthouse was built in 1919 and still serves as a navigational beacon for ships in the Haro Strait. Interpretive programs, an interpretive center with gift shop and lighthouse tours are available during the summer months.

Accessibility

• Parking: There is an upper and a lower parking lot, which both have accessible parking spots. The lower parking area is closer to the visitor center and whale watching area, the upper parking area is closer to the Lime Liln Trail. 
• Amenities: Accessible restrooms, accessible picnic table, a seasonal visitor center with food concessions, and an audible exhibit.
• Whale watching trail: As you approach the visitor center, there is a trail on the left with an accessibility symbol. This is the most accessible route to the whale watching overlooks, but it does not meet current guidelines for wheelchair accessibility.
• Lighthouse trail: The trail to the lighthouse from the overlooks is rocky, narrow, and steep. The more accessible route starts from the right side of the visitor center.

Several miles of trails take you through grassy prairies scattered with rocky outcrops, and down to South Beach. South Beach in American Camp National Historical Park is the longest public beach in the islands, with views over the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Olympic Mountains. All along this pristine two-mile pebble-and-sand beach, a wide swath of massive driftwood has washed up and been bleached in the sun for decades.

A wonderful place to take photos, enjoy a brisk walk for exercise, or a slow stroll for beachcombing, South Beach also has broad golden hills where eagles and hawks reel, rabbits forage and red foxes hunt at sunset, a historic “redoubt” or temporary fortification made during the Pig War conflict between the American and English troops from 1859 to 1871 – a standoff during which no shots were fired. Now, the only flames you’ll see are the summer bonfires at sunset as locals and visitors gather to enjoy this stunning and special place.

Accessibility from American Camp Visitors Center

• Parking: There is a paved parking lot with two accessible spots, one is van-accessible. 
• Amenities: Accessible restrooms, water fountains, and water bottle filling stations. Benches and picnic tables are available at the visitor center. 
• Features: The visitor center is wheelchair accessible and features exhibits on the history of the park. A tactile 3D map of the Salish Sea, San Juan Islands, and surrounding land is located outside of the visitor center. There is interpretive signage at the visitor center and along the trails, but none have tactile or alternative communication elements. Visitors can request golf cart shuttles during the summer. 

Named after the first Cattle Point Lighthouse keeper, George Jakle, Jakle's Lagoon is located just south of the Fourth of July Beach on Cattle Point and is part of the San Juan Island National Historical Park. A forest loop hike takes you to the top of Mt. Finlayson, the highest point on San Juan's south end, with a beautiful view of Cattle Point Lighthouse towards Lopez Island.

At 295 feet, this is not a challenging climb, although a few sections run a little steep. With South Beach, Jakle’s Lagoon, and Fourth of July Beach nearby, this hike fits very well into a day of south-end sightseeing.  From the Jakle’s Lagoon parking lot and trailhead, you can start at either end of the loop trail.

Head right on the wide Mount Finlayson Trail, which climbs gradually across golden grasslands lined by wind-blasted, contorted firs paralleling Cattle Point Road. The trail crests on the long ridge of Mount Finlayson, named for one of the founders of Victoria, B.C., which you can see from along the trail.

At 1.3 miles a trail leads left, near a group of large firs—your return route. But walk a bit farther for a grand view of Cattle Point Lighthouse. (Watch for eagles, plovers, sandpipers and hawks.) Loop back down into a cool forested ravine to reach a trail junction at Third Lagoon after 0.25 mile. Turn left onto an old woods road, 1.75 miles back to the trailhead.

Or at the parking lot, take the wide trail through the cool evergreen forest to the summit, then follow the high, open ridge and hike down the mountain back to the parking lot. From the summit you’ll have spectacular views across Haro and Juan de Fuca Straits to the Olympic Mountains and Vancouver Island. Watch for whales in these waters.

Accessibility

• Trail - Jakle’s Lagoon Nature Trail is regarded as one of the most accessible trails on the island. It is generally five feet wide, and the typical surface is firm packed gravel and soil. However, there is a steep and challenging 10-12% grade that is 0.1 mile long at the beginning of the trail. There are additional short grades up to 12%.
• Parking - Narrow gravel parking lot with space for about 12 cars. No designated accessible parking.  
• No restrooms or amenities at the trailhead.