The Best Places to Kiss on San Juan Island

Updated June 2017

“Is not the kiss the very autograph of love?” – Henry Finck

What could be more romantic than visiting a small island with breathtaking scenery and staying in a cute small town, where you can walk to everything? Kissing in such a place is more romantic. I have to admit I’m biased. Friday Harbor and San Juan Island are about the most romantic places in my world. My husband proposed here. We got married here. We visit often and retrace our steps…and kiss, with eyes and hearts wide open.

San Juan Island is magic. The people here are friendly and warm. The authentic hotels, cute boutiques, amazing galleries and farm-to-table-restaurants are run by hard working families, loving culture and nature alike. The island’s dramatic landscape, ancient mountain tops, left by glaciers thousands of years ago, is simply stunning. The crystal clear sea with Washington’s volcanoes in the background, home to the majestic Orca whales, humpbacks, sea lions, seals, otters, and more nesting Bald Eagle couples than anywhere else in the United States is raw and profound. I love it here. I love to love here. And I will share our best places to kiss in this paradise.

_{Steller Sea Lions sunning on the rocks off-shore by Cattle Point}

Cattle Point Lighthouse

On the south end of San Juan Island, in American Camp National Park, you’ll find the historic Cattle Point Light House on a spit, with an almost 360-degree view. The Strait de Haro meets the Strait Juan de Fuca here. Steller Sea Lions sunbathe on barnacled rocks out in the water. You’ll see every seabird you have ever heard of fishing off the shore. Mt Baker’s icy top sparkles in the east, while the snow covered Olympic Mountains creating mirages on the horizon. Kiss there.

_{Madronas by the Lime Kiln Light House}

The Big Madrona at Lime Kiln State Park

Lime Kiln State Park is the best whale watching park from land in the world. It’s beautifully situated on steep cliffs, amidst magnificent Douglas Firs and Madronas. There are interpretive trails, a look out and on old, rebuilt lime kiln. By the light house on the water lives the most awe-inspiring, ancient Madrona. Kiss there.

_{Soft moss carpet on top of Mt Young}

On top of Mt Young

Mt Young in English Camp National Park is a steep one-and-a-half-mile hike, with rewarding views of every other island from a soft moss carpeted top. You’ll see Bald Eagles leisurely riding the thermals above you, nesting in gnarly, weathered wolf trees and feel on top of the world. Kiss there.

San Juan Island Sculpture Park

The 20-acre Sculpture Park around beautiful Westcott Bay, with wooded as well as grassy areas and a lake will awe and inspire you on many levels. Kiss by the immense cast iron door to nowhere or the dragon in the woods or the Hand of God or the Tibetan wishing urns.

Mc Millen’s Fireside Bar in Historic Roche Harbor Resort

Stroll through happening Historic Roche Harbor on the north end of San Juan Island. Explore the marina, shops and chapel. See John Wayne’s custom, oversized bathtub, still in use at the Hotel de Haro. Have a drink by the fire, while watching the sunset over the water in the idyllic bar of one of the best Island-Certified-Local restaurants on the island and kiss there.