Since my favorite run is a short flight up to the San Juan Islands WA (Northwest from Harvey Field S43) I felt it was time for me to share some of the details with you all on this great place to take a plane for a day or a few days.

The San Juan Islands are a very scenic place to fly. Trust me. The weather is a factor on this side of the Cacades especially in winter although the San Juan Is. are situated as such in the lee of the Olympic Mts. that they get the "Banana Belt" effect and receive much less rain than we do here near Seattle. They get something like twice as many sunny days there as here. But we still do get our share of clear sunny days here in the winter (really we do!) and I never get bored with flying there even in marginal weather which can often just add to the scenic panorama of this area of mountains, water and countless islands. Its not back woods flying but the best bang for the buck around here. Its a 40 minute flight for me, and takes half a day to get there by car. My wife and I go there for lunch, dinner or whatever and always feel like it is flying money well spent for what we get.

There are three airports that are the most accommodating although most all the islands have airports on them however many are private. The two best Islands to fly to are either Orcas, or San Juan for the ease of being able to walk to town etc.

First a few words about Orcas. Orcas has a paved runway about 3000ft. There is fuel there and a great place to camp right next to the taxiway, just north of the fuel pump. If you are just there for the day, you taxi to the south end of field and tie down in one of the "blue" tiedown sites for transients. There is a gate on the southeast end that leads out and a short walk into the town of Eastsound. A very Island feel to this place. There are a couple of very good places to eat in town, with a number of shops etc. At the south end of the town there is a beach park where you can go and stroll the beach. If you want to see more of the island there is actually a rental car available. Not sure if they operate in the winter months but ask around and any local can tell you info. There are also nice places to rent for the night right in Eastsound. If you want to stay in Rosario (a historic lodge) a few miles away, they will send a car to airport to get you. If you like Mexican food "Bilbo's" is a favorite in town.

Now for San Juan island. San Juan is a short flight west of Orcas and a little bit busier. The main airport (3400ft) is in walking distance to town of Friday Harbor where there is a large marina and the ferry dock, so there is a lot more activity than in Eastsound on Orcas. You can also camp at the airport here but not as pleasant a campsite as Orcas. Lots of places to eat in town. There is a shuttle that will take you to most places around the island but not sure if they run in winter. On the other side of the island (NorthWest side) there is Roche Harbor airport (long and paved) which is private but all are welcome as long as you pay the $10 or $15 tiedown fee. It is worth it if you have never been before. A very quiet park like atmosphere. (no camping here). A short stroll will take to down to the resort of Roche Harbor where you will find a beautiful old elegant resort that takes you back in time next to a world class marina where the big players moor their yaughts.

If you have never been before these are great islands to explore and a favorite for pilots in these parts. The beauty of these islands is unmatched with countless coves and steep hillsides mixed with farming lands etc. Of course summer is the best time to visit but it is a different feel in the winter with most of the tourists gone. Much more laid back. We love it year round. There are many vacation rentals on the islands if your of that mind.

All the islands use the same frequency and Whidbey Approach will be glad to offer flight following in the area.

Whynotfly, I just checked out your photos! You have some winners there. jg

I spent the night on Orcas Island on my way up to Chilko Lake, BC, a few years back. It is a nice place and I did land at Eastsound, WA. I don't recall where we ate but it was good. Bob

Thought I'd say that was an accurate and informative report about the islands and I hope it encourages people to get out and check them out.
Spent some time on most of them when I was younger both on wheels and floats playing. Then on floats working charters a little. Really one of the most beautiful and fun places to fly in my opinion.
Anyone know what the real estate situation is on Stuart these days?

I live on the Olympic Peninsula, this is one of the greatest areas for flying with regards to scenary: mountains,lakes,shorelines,ocean,islands. The only thing not within 30 minutes is desert, gotta cross the Cascades for that.
I know several people who own places on Stuart. There are still a few lots available I guess, some unbuildable or hangar-only. You don't really hear too much about places for sale. A lot of the property sales seem to be insider deals...somebody knows somebody who has one for sale kind of thing. If you're interested, I guess I'd google it and look for a local realtor- I believe there's a few in the San Juans who fly. Or look in the GA News and TAP ads.
It's a nice summer getaway, but dreary in the winter like the rest of western WA even if it is in the rain shadow. I'd (eventually) like to live up here most of the year but get away to warmer climes for a couple months every winter. So my ideal getaway would be on a grass strip down in CA or AZ somewhere.

Eric

I just flew my cub down to Bellingham from Alaska in late October. Island flying has been a joy. I make night flights, lunch trips, and just take friends up to see the area. I really enjoy the grass strips although some I'm not sure if it is ok to land on, but I generally land unless the strip is marked with an "x".

I also enjoy flying the beautiful Olympic Peninsula - a spectacular place. Anyone know if it is ok to land on the beaches between Westport and Hobuck (Neah Bay)? Two concerns I have are legality and how safe the beaches are for landing. I have 850 tires on a cub.

Copalis Beach is a state airport (S16) right on the sand, about 16 miles north of Westport. I've been told that it's illegal to land on the salt water beaches anywhere else in Washington. Rivers are (sort of) fair game, though, except most of the time you'd be on private property so I guess trespassing laws would apply.
The Olympic Marine Sanctuary covers the shoreline from about Point Grenville ( about 30 miles north of Westport) all the way north up to Tatoosh. I believe it is now prohibited (formerly only discouraged) to fly below 2000' AGL inside the sanctuary -- which is a bunch of bullshit but that's beside the point. I'm not saying don't fly low or don't land but you might wanna have small tail numbers & make your landings hit-and-runs.
There are lotsa small grass strips around, my policy generally is not to land without being invited. Some folks don't mind, some do.

Eric

Are there any other places to camp in the San Juans besides Orcas?

1SeventyZ wrote:Are there any other places to camp in the San Juans besides Orcas?

I think you can camp on San Juan Island (Friday Harbor FHR) but Ive never seen camping there as it is not a great place to camp. I assume you are speaking strictly airport camping. In that case the answer is bascically no, unless you have a seaplane. Not sure about Lopez island, but there is nothing at the Lopez airport. If you could get a ride into Lopez Village, you can camp there, but Lopez airport is very quiet. Orcas is really the best place. Camp right next to your plane and they even have showers and you can walk to town. All the other Islands probably have nice camping but are private and you need to know someone there to stay there. J

Most of the 40 hours I put on my Sportsman to get it certified were in the San Juans. I hit every Island out there and even across to Port Townsend. It really is a great place to fly. The only time I felt I couldn't land someplace was cutting across the water to Port Townsend.
I think it was on Orcas Is we rented a cabin by a hot springs and spent the night. There was some good scenery there
I wanted to fly down the Olympic Penisula but ran out of time and weather got bad so I never made it.
While I was building the plane....the weather was beautiful every day. When it came time to fly it clouded up. Not unflyable but it wasn't as nice as the 2 weeks before!

Will be headed to the San Juans soon to explore and check it out. Any suggestions? We'll probably just camp at Orcas, but are there any other strips to check out? Can we land at Stuart to look around without permission? I realize camping there is not really an option.

Would like to shake hands with any BCP locals if you're out and about.

Stuart Island is private. If you land there you will be shot. Nah, just kiddin. Actually if you really want to check Stuart out, upon landing tell whomever gets nosey that you are just there to check out the "Washington Pilots Association" cabin that they have there. WPA keeps a cabin there that members can reserve. Other than that, see my first post on this thread to get more details.


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I go up there a lot and will most likely be camping on Orcas this weekend. So if your there then, and you see a funky old 172 with brown and white paint (with a few different shades of brown) in the camping area, look me up. John

whynotfly wrote:Stuart Island is private. If you land there you will be shot. Nah, just kiddin. Actually if you really want to check Stuart out, upon landing tell whomever gets nosey that you are just there to check out the "Washington Pilots Association" cabin that they have there. WPA keeps a cabin there that members can reserve. Other than that, see my first post on this thread to get more details.

I go up there a lot and will most likely be camping on Orcas this weekend. So if your there then, and you see a funky old 172 with brown and white paint (with a few different shades of brown) in the camping area, look me up. John

Early weekend weather reports are looking iffy. Might be nice if one of the locals can post conditions. Regardless, hoping to make it up this weekend. Orcas sounds like a great place to camp.

Zane,

You could just JOIN the Washington Pilot's Association. If the Stuart cabin is available, I bet you could use it, even if you are from "baja Washington".

--Tony

TonyG wrote:Zane,

You could just JOIN the Washington Pilot's Association. If the Stuart cabin is available, I bet you could use it, even if you are from "baja Washington".

--Tony

Tony, I have considered that, but a few other people have mentioned that the cabin is really only good for 1 or 2 planes' worth of campers. We have 3 or 4 planes along for the ride and I don't want to ruffle the feathers of the residents.

Forcast is showing that weather in San Juans this weekend will not be as nice as now but not looking too bad either. In the Northwest "not too bad" is actually really good. Anyway, around here things can change either way from the forcast. I think it will be okay up there.

Have you guys departed yet? Wx won't be too bad for this weekend.

Be advised that Oak Harbor (OKH-A.J. Eisenberg on the sectional) has $3.98 100LL, and ethanol free mogas at $3.28 (If I remember right). Cheapest in the area. They're under the 1100' floor (I think) of the Whidbey Island NAS Class C, but Whidbey's easy to deal with. There's a restricted area (R-6701) and an associated alert area to contend with if you're approaching from the south - you can check in with Whidbey to find out if it's hot or cold. (almost always cold).

Weekdays there's a guy pressure washing the runway (see the NOTAMs). Check in on 122.8, overfly the field, and make sure he's out of the way before you land.

Good luck.

--Tony

TonyG wrote:Have you guys departed yet? Wx won't be too bad for this weekend.

Started getting a sore throat last night. Hasn't improved today. Still crossing my fingers but will see what tomorrow brings. . From what I'm reading, low ceilings along the route until 11ish but should be good. If I don't make it, have a great time and hope to catch up with some of you at the next fly-in.

Craig.

Oak Harbor Airport is just outside Whidbey's Class C surface area, the floor of Whidbey's outer Class C airspace is 1300'. True, R-6701 is rarely active, but Alert Area A-680 ("OLF Coupeville") is in use quite frequently. They use it for carrier landing practice for the base's EA-6B Prowlers (and now their EF-18 "Growlers"). In fact, it was in use the other evening (thursday) even though the Whidbey ATIS didn't mention that. You can fly thrrough an alert area but I wouldn't want to get up close & personal with a navy jet! Navy Whidbey is super to work with 99% of the time (but everybody has a bad hair day once in a while!).

Eric