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Friday Harbor Airport (KFHR) lodging

Depends what you want to spend. Orcas Inn is cheap and close to the airport but is a real dive joint. We barely tolerated one night there last July. The buildings are basically double-wide mobile homes.

Make sure you visit the bakery next door to the airport. They were just getting started when we were there and showed us their French bread steam oven that was days from being hooked up. The pastry stuff they had was great.

I'd recommend Outlook motel in Eastsound on Orcas Island. Ask for a room with attached bathroom. The dude with the biplane business will let you use his car if you like too. Just fly to Friday Harbor for the food and activities (5 minutes by air).

Also, check out this thread.

Heinrich Gerhardt
RV-6, flying
 
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No recommendations - but it is a short walk from the airport to the main part of town where there are _many_ hotel options. We've stayed at a couple of them and I liked em both but I don't remember the names. We found ours through travelocity.
 
Stayed at Friday Harbor House a couple weeks ago. Very nice. I didn't fly in due to weather, but it's located on the harbor. We had a corner room, about the closest to the ferry terminal and they parked a couple over night, so we could hear the diesels running all night. Otherwise, it's a nice place. Probably a little on the pricy side if your'e looking to go budget.
 
We were there last May and stayed in the Friday Harbor House. Nice view of the bay and a 5 minute walk to everywhere "downtown". Probably a 10-15 minute walk to the airport.

I'd stay there again...
 
You guys do lots of neat trips. While in the area, consider a short flight over to Quillayute (UIL) which may be the westernmost airport in the lower 48. A summer trip to that area is on my list of places to go.
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies, everyone!
Ron, we will check out UIL.
I did get a surprise when checking out the hotel rates. Most were 250-300 a day.
 
Not Far From Friday Harbor

Hi All,
I'm new to the forum, have just started the RV-9 empennage, and saw the Friday Harbor threads. My wife and I have chartered in the San Juan Islands a number of times and really enjoyed our visits to Friday Harbor. I can't recommend any lodging because we've always stayed on the boat, but I highly recommend the short drive over to Roche Harbor for lunch. You won't be disappointed. There is also a surfaced runway associated with the harbor. Don't have any more info on that. Looking forward to this new adventure and learning from all of you as I go.
Frank Bush
 
More options

My wife and I took a flying vacation up there a couple years ago for our 10yr anniversary (in a C152... had to ship our camping gear). In Friday Harbor (San Juan Island), we stayed at Kirk House B&B (Kirkhouse.net) which was a 5 min walk from the airport, and they picked us up on arrival so we didn't have to lug our stuff. They took very good care of us and the breakfast was great. Its pretty small, just 3 or 4 rooms, so book early. I took Debbie, one of the owners, up on her first aerial tour of the islands, which hopefully made her even more enthusiastic about hosting pilots. One day we flew over to Lopez Island and had a guy from the bike shop meet us as the airport with a tandem bike. After a couple hours cruising around, we ended up back at the shop and he drove us back to the airport (gave him a good tip for sure!). Great fun and way better than a full day of ferry ride to do the same biking.

After a 2 night stay, we went out for a 3 day, 2 night sea kayaking trip with Outdoor Odysseys (outdoorodysseys.com) who I highly recommend even for just day trips if you aren't up for a bigger adventure. Don't try paddling the San Juans without a lot of experience because the tidal currents can be brutal.

From there we transferred to Orcas Island where we spend one night at Kangaroo House B&B (kangaroohouse.com), also a short walk from the airport and they'll give you a ride. Again a really nice place, great breakfast, and a nice, private outdoor hot tub. They only had a room for one night, plus we wanted to splurge for our anniversary, so we rented a car for a couple days and transferred to Turtleback Farm Inn (turtlebackinn.com) which was amazing (and expensive). Great breakfast delivered to the room if you like, nice grounds to wonder, orchard to eat apples and pears off the trees, etc. I'd recommend the Orchard House which is a newer building with bigger rooms. Orcas is the biggest island, so having a car is nice for exploring, especially after flying over to preview where you want to go. For a more crunchy granola budget experience, check out Doe Bay, where we camped many years prior.

All-in-all, a great memorable trip, with great weather right up until the day we had to fly back to Portland. The entire Seattle area was socked in down low, so we had to make several stops to wait for the clouds and/or to work our way around. An RV could have easily climbed above the slop from the San Juans that were clear.

Other options nearby that we didn't explore are, of course, Victoria & Vancouver BC, the Seattle Museum of Flight, etc. Have a great trip!
 
It would be great to go to that area. Kayaking with orcas would be neat. Those room rates sure are steep.
 
Tom, I may just do that. I have been to Seattle twice but in December and January. I never saw Mt Rainier from the ground. Plus the westernmost airport in the lower 48 is in that area (UIL). The area is so much different from where I live that it is surely beautiful when it is not cloudy.

Having flown to the Bahamas I should even be able to fly to the islands, although higher than most people.
 
My wife's favorite breakfast spot is the Rock Island Cafe on Spring Street; an easy walk from KFHR. There is a nice dinner restaraunt called "The Place" (or something very similar) at the end of Spring Street on the water.

Orcas Island (Eastsound) also has some fun spots; all an easy walk from the airport. The airport there (ORS ) also allows camping next to your aircraft on grass. There is a dedicated walking path (about 3/4 mile) to the town of Eastsound. You can get around the island hitchhiking if you like.
 
camping at Orcas

We have camped at the East Sound Airport on Orcas Island several times in August during the last 10 years, and have always enjoyed the visit. The airport manager will clue you into the combination for the bathroom with a shower in the north end of one of the hangars just to the east of the tiedown area where you can camp. Sometimes there are rental cars available at the terminal, I think they have 3 or 4. However, it is a short walk into downtown. The biplane guy, Rod, has an unsecure wireless connection available at his hangar. Stop and visit with Rod and look over the aviation stuff on the walls of that hangar.
 
You guys should consider a stop at Paine Field PAE in Everett to tour the Boeing factory and Paul Allens Flying Heritage Collection. You can taxi up to both but they are at opposite ends of the 10,000 ft runway.
 
Try this for something different...

There is a house that you can rent on Roche Harbor Airport. Sleeps up to 6... http://www.airnav.com/airport/WA09
Fly in, tie down in front of house, all within walking distance of the Roche Harbor Resort. A short flight or drive in the provided 'Island Car' puts you over at Friday Harbor. If this interests you contact these folks: http://www.maularchitects.com/SAN JUAN CABIN/ San Juan Island cabin home page.html We've stayed here a couple of times and have enjoyed every minute! Flying around the Islands and its breathtaking scenery is a great way to enjoy this part of the country!

Enjoy!:)
 
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