Saw a small sign on the side of the road. Wasn't prepared for how awesome the English camp was. There are original buildings, a formal garden, and a hiking trail up to a small cemetery. Further up is a gorgeous lookout from Young Hill. This is a National Park so you can get your passport stamped. The husband and wife volunteers are quite knowledgeable and willing to share info on the camps history or the Osprey that are currently nesting up in the woods. They set up a camera so you can watch the birds on an iPad from the barracks. In the back of the main building there is a 12 minute video explaining how the British and Americans fought over a boar being shot. Eventually the British left and Americans took over. This was an excellent experience. Highly recommend not driving past the small sign! read more

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Well, first we met Dennis and Christina, wonderful people managing the place to national Park service husband and wife team. They were amazing and so nice. I'm handicapped and they even gave me a ride back to my car in a people mover from the property. The hill is a little bit steep but doable slowly for people with a cane. I am a disabled veteran, so I really appreciate their hospitality. The gift shop was quite amazing. It offered not only a lot of items that you would like to see if there was also food on the property that you could get from vendors one of Mr. nonprofit that supports the park. But I really liked the English garden and the barracks were well-maintained and they have a 17 minute video that explains the history of it which came in very handy understanding its progress and process. If we have longer, I will return and spend more time looking around, but if we don't, I know I got to the place that I thought was a pretty special place. Highly recommended. read more

English Camp Visitor Center - Situated next to the bay and forest this field and these old buildings offer a special treat. - Visitor Centers Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

This may not be a flashy, fancy, or even often-discussed little feature of San Juan Island, but it was actually one of my favorite parts of the day I spent there. I'll let you learn about it all on your own, but the overview of why there even exists and "English Camp" comes down to the question of land ownership. Way back when, the San Juans were a contested territory, so the British set up a camp on one end of the island here, and the Americans staked their claim at the south end of the island. Over the years, it then became clear it would be American territory and the English camp was eventually vacated. It's now part of the San Juan Island National Historic Park which ha acreage primarily on the southern tip of the island, but does include this but up north. Today, you can find remnants of the camp here. Several buildings still exist, as well a a garden. Also, can you imagine being assigned to this outpost? You'd just been in India or off in some farflung place under hostile conditions, and your next assignment is to hang out at a camp with pleasant weather and nice scenery, to stake a claim on a territory against your allies? Not a bad gig, IMO. My favorite part was the garden, because naturally it is. It's a small area that sort of separates the common areas from what used to be the officers' housing, and is well-maintained with several bright varieties of perennials. The other buildings were all closed; I presume some of them are open but due to COVID were all shut down. We walked around an imagined life in those days, peered through the windows, saw a harbor seal in the little bay there, and breathed in the same air that those old soldiers did so many years ago. It took less than an hour, but was an hour well spent. read more

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This establishment is an old, abandoned English Camp that was used in the late 1800s by the navy. Today, there isn't much left except a few abandoned, but well-kept houses, a garden, a parade ground, and hiking trails. This place is tranquil and serene, making it a good escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. However, it is not particularly picturesque or entertaining. read more

English Camp Visitor Center - Visitor Centers Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

I had been to the islands 5 times in a span of 6 years. We had never stopped at the English camp. We finally stopped and took the recommended hike. Wow, what a hell of a hike. For a unfit person like myself, it beat me up and put me into a new shape really fast. After reaching the top it was all worth the huffing and puffing during the pandemic. The views were absolutely amazing. read more

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English Camp is part of the San Juan Island National Historical Park, on San Juan Island, WA. The park includes both English Camp and American Camp, and because they are two very different, distinct places and located on opposite ends of the island (20-30 minutes drive apart), they both deserve separate yelp entries, despite the fact that they are technically part of the same park. If you want to come here, do not look to the address listed here, but map it on your own or follow the link to the National Historic Park website and follow the map because the only street address given will take you to a PO Box in Friday Harbor. While the camps have some things in common, they have vast differences--just as the English and Americans do. This is the part of the review where I lean over to the curmudgeon next to me at the country pub and say, "it's just like those yanks to over-generalise everything and think we're all the same. Humbug! Those American Camp yanks didn't even have mince pies or mutton, I'll warrant!" ...If only in my head, me being "a yank" and all... One thing the two camps did have in common (aside from being on the same island) was that wonderful thing that unites us all: conflict. At the time of the island camping, there was tension over an unresolved territorial dispute known as the Pig War. Basically, a pig ran from one camp into another and nearly started a war but instead it was merely an international incident because, as signs at both camps are quick to remind visitors, "no shots were fired on either side and there were no casualties." But what happened to the pig? Honestly, it's such a stupid story, such a stain on the character and an embarrassment to the reputations of all parties involved, it beggars the imagination why they would memorialize it as a park (expect perhaps to protect a few really pretty spots from the real estate developer's backhoe). It is such a stupid story, in fact, that I'd rather make up my own. So here goes: "Once upon a time there was a pig. He was a juicy one. His name was Danforth Johnson. He was American but he liked British truffles so he wanted to be British. They tried to make him a citizen. He held up his right trotter and oinked out God Save the Queen AND Rule Britannia. He even make a piggish Union Flag in the mud and he know it was only a Union Jack if it was flown at sea. He was a good pig. He liked bangers and mash over hotdogs and beer any day. Then, the Americans got angry and chased him, but he was slippery because the British had anticipated this move and greased him using lard. Everyone chased the pig as he tore through both camps from one end of the island to the other several times while a hayseed played fast banjo music and everyone who chased him in stained overalls and yelled things like, "dag nab that varmit!" At this time, the Duke Boys showed up and threw a couple of punches while smiling and then everyone learned a lesson and stood side by side sawying to slow, boring country music at the King's Arms Pub in the hamlet of Worcesterrshireland on Exitmouth, which is in English Camp.They all got along now, even though the English continued to refuse to wear thigh-revealing cut-off jean shorts." That is my story of the Pig War. English camp is situated by pretty little Garrison Bay. It has some trails in some woods, a large parade ground, officers' quarters, and a dock that goes out into the bay, but has a huge pile of poop right in the middle of it. It also has a crooked house with white paint right over the water where they have little holes in the walls to shoot muskets and keep the bad men. It has a fruit orchard, including some really choice pears if you can get up into the tree. It has a full moon, whose irridescence shimers over the smooth as glass bay waters like an errie, irridescent thing. Trust me, you'll like it. It costs no money to come here, and there are alpacas on the way. read more

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