San Juan Island National Historical Park — Attraction in San Juan Island

Is the park haunted?

My aunt and I spent a weekend exploring San Juan Island.

We went to the cemetery and had some strange things happen.

The battery in my camera was 100% charged when we arrived, I took a couple photos of the cemetery and tombstones, and my camera stopped working and shut off completely.

A minute later it turned back on by itself.

I switched out the battery for a new one (also 100% charged), took some more photos, but when I swung back in the same direction as before - my camera screen went completely black and wouldnt take any photos, then died again.

Upon getting back to our hotel I was looking at the pictures I'd taken and cannot explain some of the things my camera captured.

I explored the rest of the park by myself, my aunt was tired and waited for me in the car (a convertible with the top down).

I was excited to see the grounds, but had to be quick looking around since my aunt was waiting for me.

I took photos of buildings, the garden, and blockhouses and decided I should start heading back to the car to meet my aunt.

There was one more building on the way I hadn't photographed yet so I stopped briefly.

After taking a couple pictures I had an eerie feeling, strong enough that I actually stopped and looked around me to see who was there. But, I was the only person there.

I lifted my camera to take another photo of the building and again my screen went black.

I waited a moment but it stayed black. I pointed it another direction and it went back to normal. Weird.

I started walking the trail back to the parking lot.

Had a weird sense I was being watched, or someone was nearby, so I hurried my pace. I was extremely relieved when I knew I was close to the parking lot since there would be other cars and possibly people there, including my aunt.

But, when I got to the parking lot it was completely empty.

No cars, no people.

I started to feel a little panicked. Where was my aunt's car? Where did she go? I started walking towards the park entrance and finally at the end of the driveway, parked on the road I saw my aunt's car.

She honked her horn loudly to get my attention and yelled "Get in, now!"

So, I started running towards her and she waved her hand urging me to hurry up.

After hearing her urgent tone of voice I didn't hesitate and got in as quick as possible.

As we sped away I asked her "What's wrong?"

She said "You wouldn't belive me, but I had to get out of their immediately!"

Then she proceeds to tell me that she was sitting in the car with the convertible top down, waiting for me.

Several people came back to their cars and left the park, making her the only car left in the parking lot. The parking lot is gravel so she could hear them coming before she saw them.

After a few minutes she again heard the crunch of footsteps in the gravel and assumed it was me coming up the trail.

But, when she looked up no one was there.

And yet, the footsteps continued towards her and started walking slowly around her car.

The footsteps circled the car several times, stopping then starting again just feet from her, causing the gravel to make a crunching sound with each step.

She froze not knowing what to do.

Someone, or something was there.

Everything in her body screamed "Get out of here now!" but she didn't want to leave me behind.

So she drove as fast as she could out of the park and waited on the road for me to appear in the parking lot. Scared out of her mind.

As she was telling me her story, my mind went back to how my camera had acted up and the battery went from 100% to zero, and the eerie feeling I had coming up the trail and at the cemetery.

There was no doubt something supernatural was going on here.

Over the next two days exploring the island my camera worked perfectly, battery never drained again, didn't sense any eerie presences.

It's so strange that we both had an experience at the park even though we were not together.

I'd love to know who else has had an experience at the park, I know we cannot be...

This park is not just a "one stop" location. It covers a large area of the island, mostly on the southern point. There are trails, beaches, cliffs, water views, a light house and the old forts. All located within an easy drive of each other. So plan on spending a day exploring them all as I did. If you want to camp, options are limited. San Juan county park is the main option with limited spaces that fill up quickly so plan accordingly. Another note, the ferries are currently experiencing boat and personnel shortages so ferries are not necessarily on time and are also frequently cancelled. Patience and flexibility are a must! You can (must) reserve your spot for the ferry but know that even that is not...

Several images posted by reviewers are inaccurate. This is a part of the park that is mostly clear of trees. When you drive southeast towards the park on Cattle Point Road, the side along the beach is mostly clear, but the side more inland is residential. There's a wonderful small parking area along the side of the road near this Google map marker that's easily missed. When you take the trail, you'll get to walk along a long trail that leads to the Cattlepoint Lighthouse. It's a beautiful walk along the cliffside, but not for those...