SUMMER ACTIVITIES...at Roche Harbor

 

Recreational Facilities

 

 

 

Our 82 degree heated swimming pool is open daily during the summer season from 10:00 a.m. until 6 p.m. Visit our facility called the Tarte Pool Center with its modern bathrooms and shower rooms and during summer a snack bar "little grass hut" style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If a game of tennis is more your style, we have two tennis courts available for your use. It is best to make reservations, so please call the Pool Office and they will set you up!

 

 

 

Mopeds & Bicycles

Available at the entrance to Roche Harbor during July and August and some weekends - for you to explore the island at your own pace! During fall and spring, pick up from Friday Harbor.

Susie's Mopeds are available hourly, daily or by the group.
To reserve your wheels call (360)378-5244 or visit website at: www.susiesmopeds.com

 

Marine Adventures

Roche Harbor is not only beautiful, but offers wonderful activities unique only to the Northwest. If you are looking for fun and want to enjoy yourself surrounded by unsurpassed scenery, try an adventure offered by San Juan Outfitters leaving from our docks at the Marine Adventure Center in front of the restaurant. Kayaking and whale watching can all be enjoyed daily through the summer months from May until the end of September. A naturalist guide will answer any questions you might have along the way and will familiarize you with the surrounding wildlife and terrain. See bald eagles, blue heron , sea birds, Orca whales, dolphins, seals, otter andother wildlife, as well as magical sunsets on the evening treks.

Come see why the whales love the west side of San Juan Island more than anywhere else in the Northwest.

 

Sea Kayaking

A trip to Roche Harbor wouldn't be complete without a kayak trip out onto the beautiful waters of Haro Strait. No experience necessary, fully guided, with lots of wildlife to enjoy.

Click here for more information and prices.

 

 

 

Whale Watching

Noted for its close proximity to the orca whales, Roche Harbor provides a strategic port for seeing these wonderful and playful mammals. San Juan Safaris' boat, the "Kittiwake" has a wonderful viewing success rate and their whale-watch friends return each year, just like the whales, to enjoy each other's company.

Click here for more information and prices.

 

Hiking Trails

There are many trails for you to enjoy if you enjoy walking. Close to the village are the lime quarry trails, dug out during the limestone years at Roche Harbor.  Enjoy fantastic views over the Canadian Gulf Islands as you get to the higher elevations.  Another very popular walk is the one to the historical mausoleum.  Just about a 20 minute walk away from the village center past the little chapel on the hill, you will stumble upon a haunting burial place for the McMillin family. Interesting facts on its history and how it came to be, along with meanings from the Masonic and Sigma Chi elements of its design is available from the Hotel Front Desk.  On the way back you might like to walk through the Sculpture Park that you will pass near the arches.  About 100 sculptures are tastefully placed along pathways in a natural setting. A truly unique walking destination.  If you enjoy long hikes, then you will definitely want to try the hiking trail from Roche Harbor to English Camp which has recently been marked with signs by San Juan Island Trails Committee. For more information and maps of trails around the area, please see www.sanjuanislandtrails.org.

 

 

The Colors Ceremony

Each evening at Roche Harbor, a very special ceremony takes place just before sunset. "The Colors Ceremony" is a nightly tradition throughout the summer season is highly revered by all who work at — and visit — Roche Harbor.

The Retirement of the Colors can be viewed and heard from almost anywhere in the harbor, but one of the best views is from McMillins' Dining Room, which is Roche Harbor's fine dining restaurant. The ceremony is taken very seriously by our employees and has been a tradition at Roche Harbor since the summer of 1957. It is a non-military ceremony formulated by the late Reuben J. Tarte who bought the property in 1956.

 

Flag Order

Processional ... Colonel Bogey March
Roche Harbor Pennant ... Retreat
Washington State flag ... To the Colors
Canadian Flag ... O, Canada
British Flag ... God Save the Queen
United States Flag ... Taps
Recessional ... Stars & Stripes Forever

A loud cannon shot will sound before the United States flag is lowered. Please join us for the Roche Harbor flag lowering ceremony each night as you enjoy the beauty of our sunsets. Sunset times may be obtained from the Hotel Front Desk orHarbormaster's Office.

 

Gardens

     

Roche Harbor has beautiful gardens to stroll through during your stay.  The two main gardens are situated in front of the Hotel de Haro and have been there since the 1800's.  Many old pictures from those days show the gardens flourishing with many flowers, especially one old picture showing a hollyhock with a measuring stick beside it measuring over 8 feet tall.  Most gardeners say it is all the lime that leached into the soil many years ago from the lime business that has created the perfect growing medium for flowers at Roche Harbor. Certainly it has for the beautiful, large peonies gracing the walkways during May.  John S. McMillin, founder of Roche Harbor Lime & Cement Company, originally had the gardens designed for his wife to look out onto from the porch of their home which is now the fine dining restaurant.  He was quite proud of his gardens and used to have his workers catch the abundant salmon from the bay and place them on the flower beds to rot in order to fertilize the gardens.  Upon the death of his father, Paul McMillin let the gardens go to weeds but after the sale of the Roche Harbor Lime & Cement Company to the Tarte family, were lovingly cared for and restored by Clara Tarte.  She grew many flowers used to decorate "Our Lady of Good Voyage Chapel" every Sunday for services, and her son Neil and his wife Margaret have been carrying on the tradition since her death in 1988.  The gardens have been lovingly nurtured over the years with many articles written about them in magazines.  Christy Erickson of Zizania Ltd. in Seattle has been designing the gardens for the last 6 years and has been collecting many unusual plants and shrubs for placement  these delightful gardens steeped in history.

 

Westcott Bay Reserve Sculpture Park

 

   

Located just across the street from the cottages is a nineteen acre microcosm of the San Juan ecology; forests, meadows, freshwater wetlands, saltwater wetlands, and rocky outcroppings. The trails throughout the reserve are interspersed with interpretive displays about nature and installations of over 100 sculptures. Each year the reserve hosts a variety of events including an Art & Nature festival in May, three weekends of Artists in Action with stonecarvers, wood carvers, blacksmiths and metal fabricators and a Best of the San Juans Festival in September showcasing a variety of arts, food and music found in the islands. A "must see" while you are here at Roche Harbor. 

Check out their website at www.wbay.org.