SAN JUAN ISLANDS, WASHINGTON
Wildlife-watching opportunities are magnificent in the San Juan Islands — 172 named islands and reefs in the Salish Sea between Anacortes, Washington, and Vancouver Island. Filling the waters and sky are three pods of resident killer whales (orcas), minke whales, Steller sea lions, seals, otters and bald eagles. And the views aren’t too shabby either. “The Olympic Mountains, the Cascade Range and the Canadian coastal range offer a 360-degree view of snowcapped rugged mountains,” says Jennifer Hanna, captain of motor yacht Jamal. Begin your five-to-seven-day charter in Bellingham, Washington, and cruise toward uninhabited Sucia Island’s Echo Bay, where you can set crab pots, hike some of the 10 miles of trails and tour nearby Clements Reef ’s seal colony. The next morning, cruise south to the…