ACTIVITIES

...What to do while staying at Roche Harbor

Roche Harbor is full of fun with exciting things to do - both during the quiet season and of course, more during the summer season.

No matter what your interest, you'll find something to do - whether it be strolling the beautiful Victorian gardens and surrounding areas, dining in one of our three restaurants, browsing the artist booths during summer, or going out whale watching and sea kayaking with San Juan Outfitters - there is something for everyone! 

Also available for the live-theatre buffs is Roche Harbor's outdoor theatre located behind one of the old lime quarries - with performances under the stars during summer evenings given by a local professional theatre group Island Stage Left.   Coming to the Roche Harbor Amphitheatre July 31 thru August 23, 2008 - see poster below...

 

 

We have a newly remodeled heated swimming pool facility complete with bathrooms and a wading pool for the little ones.  Two tennis courts adjoin the pool area, along with a fabulous children's play area housing sturdy wooden playground equipment for climbing and sliding. 

Just a short distance from the village core - across the road from the cottages - is the Westcott Bay Reserve Sculpture Park.  Enjoy a stroll through the nineteen acre park and pass through displays of almost 100 sculptures by local Northwest artists which have been tastefully displayed along the trails. 

If you want to enjoy more hiking, then hike through the limekiln quarries now abandoned after years of producing the "largest limeworks west of the Mississippi".  Great views over the Canadian Gulf Islands await you on the higher elevations.  For the serious hiker, enjoy the trails from Roche Harbor to English Camp - several miles of trails that wind their way through Roche Harbor lands and the Washington Department of Natural Resource's Mitchell Hill area - east of English Camp.  Visit www.sanjuanislandtrails.org for more information and maps of these great hiking trails made possible by volunteer work performed by members of the San Juan Island Trails Committee or pick up a trail map from the Hotel de Haro front desk.

Perhaps you want to dig for your dinner?  Try picking up the famous Westcott Bay oysters right from the beach during low tide in summer at the oyster farm.  A fun family activity with a reward of delicious, fresh oysters to cook for the finale!  Located a mile or two from the arches.

If you want to see the island at your own pace, and have a spirit of adventure about you, try renting one of Susie's Mopeds available right at the entrance into Roche Harbor. With hourly or daily rates, you can scoot your way down to Lime Kiln State Park and watch the whales swim by at your own leisure.

After your full day of sightseeing, enjoy our very own Colors Ceremony at sunset.  Lowering of the flags of Great Britian, Canada and the U.S. along with national anthems, Taps and a cannon salute are performed each night during the summer season.  Check with the Harbormaster or Hotel front desk for sunset times.