San Juan Island National Historic Park

I only got to visit the American Camp side of this park, but it was wonderful!

Driving along Cattle Point Road you'll see signs to enter multiple different sites at the park. I mainly stopped at three locations:

Cattle Point Interpretive Area: You can either take the steps down to the pebbly beach to feel more connected to the water, or go up the mossy mound to get a high ground view of... well, everything. I saw water, cliffs, islands, ducks, eagles, seals... unfortunately, no whales, though, prob because this is not the time of year they are around much.

Cattle Point Lighthouse: Walked on a cute trail to the lighthouse, where I saw a humongous red fox on a hill, looking like it was digging or pouncing on something! On the other side of the lighthouse are views of miles of open sky and water.

South Beach: On the road leading to the beach, we actually saw a black fox just chilling, lying on the road. It moved to the fenced area as we approached, and my gosh it was beautiful. I didn't even know black foxes existed! The beach itself is wide and has views of endless water, with some driftwood hanging out near you.

I know there's so much more to the park that we didn't see, but I was quite happy with the wildlife and incredible scenery. Especially the foxes... I've only seen like one other (that I can remember), so seeing the ones here were such a bonus.
The trails and sites that we missed are even more reason to return to San Juan Island National Historical Park. I just hope I'm able to come out to this island again someday.

Not to be confused with San Juan National Historic Site--that one would be in Puerto Rico--this is a delightful and small historic area on San Juan Island proper, in the San Juan Islands in the Puget Sound region of Washington.

The park is divided into two distinct regions on opposite ends of the island. This is part of the history--the US and the British contested the ownership of the island and each made camp on opposite ends to stake their claim and wait it out.

To the north, you have English Camp. Obviously, this is where the English were. On the southern tip, you have American Camp, where... you get it.

I didn't realize the northern part was so large, as I only visited English Camp itself, but you can walk around and it appears there are a few trails.

I got to the southern part as the day wore on, and so I didn't have as much time as I had hoped, but we did go in seek of tide pools per the website and weren't sure where they were located. It was a bust in that regard, but we had a terrific hike through the forest on the eastern side of the island, down to Jakles Lagoon. Then we came back up and were in awe when we drove over the hump to the western side and saw how windswept and barren that shore is. Still cool, though, with kitesurfers out.

There are a few signs and parking areas and restrooms along the way. Unfortunately we visited during the time of COVID and the visitors centers were closed so we had to make do on our own.

I'm sure I'll be back to San Juan Island again, and when I do come back, I would love to get a better look at some of the trails, especially those that leave from American Camp. But having almost the entire place to ourselves on this trip was a pretty memorable experience and no matter how you do it, it's gorgeous country.

COVID-19: Visitor centers were closed, so I couldn't do my Junior Ranger oath in person, but you can print the booklet online and mail it in completed for a badge.

Parking: Free parking lots. We went on a Wednesday and Thursday, and never saw the lots full.

This park is split in 2. American Camp in the south part of the island and English Camp in the north. No admission fee for either, so it's hard to complain. All the areas we visited seemed well maintained and free of trash. Depending on how thorough you want to be or how many trails you want to do, I think it is possible to visit both in a day.

American Camp
- Mount Finlayson Trail: 3 mile loop with 408 feet elevation gain per wta.org. It connects with the nature walk and Lagoon Trail at parts. Trailhead has a small parking lot, no bathrooms. We spent 2.5 hours on the trail, going pretty slow because I was testing out my new hiking poles for the first time. The lagoon seemed dried up and the air was smokey during our visit so views weren't great, but it wasn't crowded at all so the peacefulness was appreciated. There were clear sign posts along the way so you could decide which of the 3 main trails you wanted to follow.
- South Beach: It was a gloomy day so it was kind of sad. The water was freezing when I dipped my feet in.
- Fourth of July Beach: I liked this one more than South Beach because the water was so tranquil.

English Camp
- Grounds: We walked around the garden and saw the remaining buildings. Watch out for bird poop in the grass! It's the same parking lot to check out the grounds and the trailhead for Young Hill. There is a bathroom. I didn't use it, but my boyfriend told me the men's side smelled pretty bad.
- Young Hill: 2.2 miles out and back trail with 587 feet elevation gain per wta.org. It took us 1.5 hours with breaks, because I did get pretty tired at parts. Hiking 2 days in a row is hard for me. Unfortunately, we didn't get nice views at the top due to the smokey air. I was too tired to go check out the cemetery on the way back.

Awesome spot. Took a day trip up there last week while on my current trip at my home state of Washington. It's a serene and beautiful park. Easily accessible by car. You can always drive back to Friday Harbor quickly for food and drinks. The park is well known for its population of Red Foxes, Bald Eagles and other wildlife. Please keep them wild by not feeding them!

This is a great, historical park! My two youngest kids earned their first junior ranger badges here after completing a booklet that taught them the history of American Camp. Educational and fun, not to mention a breathtakingly beautiful place to visit if you are able to wander down towards the cliffs and water--gorgeous!
I am attaching photos that I took

San Juan National Historic Park (full name San Juan Island National Historic Park) was not running with all facilities open when I stopped in the park on Friday 22 May 2020. These were mostly COVID-19 related temporary operations changes. I was lucky/happy to find that pull-outs along Cattle Point Road were not blocked off, so I stopped to take in the scenic views of the Olympic Mountains and learn what I could from the park signage. The signs I saw provided useful geographic and cultural context. The history of the area is long with roots tracing back thru geology and Native Americans (called American Indians on the signs). As a driving through and stopping visit I enjoyed the park, though I would like to come back and spend more time here.

We were here when the office was closed but we still walked around to read the placards and see the beautiful views. We came back so we could hear the history and see the displays inside and get the stamp for our National Parks Passport.

It was fascinating to learn about what transpired on San Juan Island between the Brits and the US and the Pig War. We also visited the English camp on the other side of the island to get the whole story.

Stop #6 - A Perfect Summer Day on San Juan Island

I found the English Camp to be nicer to walk around than the American Camp but both are worth visiting. I didn't know anything about the "Pig War" so found it to be quite informative. The 2 mile trail around the point at the English Camp was quite lovely. There is a 1 mile spur trail to the Wescott Shellfish Farm from the English Camp if you are hungry for oysters.

What a fun lesson in some lessor known American History (the Pig War). They had live realistic demonstrations by people dressed in period garb who interacted with us observers. One of the demonstrations was beside a 360 year old vine maple tree (the oldest known living tree of this species) in the world. We enjoyed a relaxing walk to the Lime Kiln Lighthouse. We stopped to sit for awhile to watch for whales. This park is a must see when you visit San Juan Island.

San Juan National Historic Park is one of those essential stops one must make when visiting San Juan Island. It's right up there with seeing if you can spot whales at the Lime Kiln Lighthouse!
There are two historical sectors on San Juan Island, American Camp and British Camp. British Camp is facing west on the island by the shore...about midway really from Roche Harbor to American Camp.
English Camp's buildings are very well preserved and most of them that were built here are still standing. From what I hear this is partly due to someone who once owned the land made sure that the buildings remained intact. The buildings are fascinating to look at and there are even a couple you can go in and look around in. At English Camp there is a beautiful garden that was put in when the British stayed here. About .8 miles from the parking lot (I believe) there is a cemetery that the British also built for those that passed away while at the camp.
We also visited American Camp which is far south and east on a small point of San Juan Island. American Camp is also very beautiful but most of the buildings that were here have been removed. Most likely relocated to other parts of the island. There is a display indicating what was happening to the buildings that were here and mentioning that tracking down these various buildings is harder than it seems. At one point going off of the old pictures this camp was much larger than English Camp. Despite the removal of so many buildings there is a large fence indicating where most of the camp buildings were. The history markers are very interesting to read and gives you a good idea of what life was like here when the camp was fully functional. There is also a large dugout where soldiers unearthed a small hill. If there were no signs to indicate what took place here one would just think it would be ridges in the land. I believe the precise term for this dugout area is a redoubt.
The camps are a delight to go to as you absorb the history that is on the island as well as all the other beautiful places and views located on San Juan Island.