Cycling on Lopez Island

Bike Ride: Lopez Island Loop

Ride Difficulty: Moderate 

Ride Distance (Round Trip): 22.5 miles biking, plus whatever hiking at each park

Time: We took about 6 hours with lots of time for lunching and swimming and exploring

Elevation Change: 820 feet total gain; same total loss

Every day of the year, I wish I was in the San Juan Islands. Although I don't count down to the next visit, I might as well. It was so great to be back in the islands this summer for a short family reunion and then some solo adventure time on Lopez Island. Lopez Island has a reputation for a) being super bike-friendly and b) just being friendly in general (it's known as "the friendly isle" and you may notice that almost everyone waves at you from their car when driving on the roads). Unlike some of the other islands, Lopez is relatively flat and doesn't have a lot of traffic (at least it didn't on the Monday that we were cycling), making it ideal for cycling.  

We rented bikes from Village Cycles in Lopez Village. We wanted to do a loop that was somewhere between 15-25 miles. The bike shop recommended heading down to Shark Reef Sanctuary and then on to Agate Beach and Iceberg Point, but we were staying down on the south part of the island and had been here already. We decided to first ride out to Fisherman Bay Spit Preserve, then down to Shark Reef Sanctuary, and then over along the east side of the island and up to Spencer Spit State Park. From there, we headed back to the Village via Hummel Lake Road. I will provide road by road directions of our route at the end of this post. 

We really got the most incredible weather for our cycling adventure. I loved the big puffy clouds that made incredible reflections on the water throughout the day. 

We started south on Fisherman Bay Road and then turned right on Bayshore Road towards Fisherman Bay Spit Preserve. We turned left on Peninsula Road to continue out to the Spit. This road turns to gravel towards the end, but was completely reasonable for a hybrid bicycle. 

 Fisherman Bay from Fisherman Bay Road

 Fisherman Bay to our right and the channel between Lopez and San Juan Islands to our left

One of the cool things about Lopez Island is all of the parks have great bike racks at the trail heads. We parked our bikes at the Spit and walked out to the water before continuing on our way. 

We took Bayshore back to Fisherman Bay Road and continued up the hill and south. We missed Airport Road because it isn't marked, so continued to Davis Bay Road and turned right. 

I absolutely loved this little church with a beautiful view and cemetery. They hold both Lutheran and Catholic services at Center Church. 

We continued along Davis Bay Road, turned right on Burt Road and then left on Shark Reef Road. We reached the Shark Reef Sanctuary parking lot (with restrooms) and trailhead shortly after turning left. 

From the parking lot, it is a 10 minute walk to the coast. Once at the coast, there is a lot of coast line to explore and it is easy to find a place for some solitude. We ate an early lunch here and enjoyed watching the kelp dance and listening to the seals on some of the small islands right off the coast. 

 Shark Reef Sanctuary

We probably spent an hour or so at Shark Reef before continuing our ride. We rode back up Burt Road, right on Davis Bay Road, and then up Fisherman Bay to take a left on Center Road. This next part of the ride was challenging for us. I don't cycle regularly, and while I never thought I couldn't make it, I was definitely working hard. 

We turned right on School Road, then continued on Lopez Sound, right on Port Stanley Road, and then right on Bakerview Road all the way to Spencer Spit State Park. We may have seen one car on this entire stretch. It was quiet with stretches of farmland and stretches of woods. It really was delightful.

At Spencer Spit there are bike racks and restrooms and then a short trail down to the spit. I really loved it here. It took me awhile to realize that to the north I was looking out on roughly the same view that I see from the other side when we stay in Olga on Orcas Island. Allyson's great-aunt has painted this view numerous times, so it felt pretty special to see it from the other side.

This was also where I finally got to take a (brief) swim. Supposedly, the water was about 47 degrees, according to our whale watching captain. It was pretty cold but very refreshing! 

Spencer Spit State Park

Frost Island

Looking out towards Orcas Island

Getting back on the bikes was tough, considering how much pain our booties were feeling at this point. Thankfully, we didn't have too much farther to go. We took Bakerview Rd back out of the park, turned left on Port Stanley Rd and right on Hummel Lake Rd. Hummel Lake is a quaint little lake and this road was generally very pleasant to ride on. It was a nice way to finish up our ride. Well, actually, we finished up with ice cream in Lopez Village at Just Heavenly Fudge Shop and THAT was the best way to end our bike ride! 

If you wanted to make this ride longer, I definitely recommend checking out Agate Beach and Iceberg Point; however, I highly recommend checking those spots out around sunset. 

 Barlow Bay

 Barlow Bay

 Agate Beach

 Iceberg Point

Turn by Turn Directions for Bike Ride:

1. Lopez Road and right on Fisherman Bay Road. 

2. Right on Bayshore Road.

3. Left on Peninsula Road. 

4. Continue onto Chestnut Lane. Arrive at Fisherman Bay Spit Preserve.

5. Back on Chestnut and continue on Peninsula. 

6. Right on Bayshore Road. 

7. Right on Fisherman Bay Road. 

8. Right on Davis Bay Road.

9. Right on Burt Road. 

10. Left on Shark Reef Road. Arrive at Shark Reef Sanctuary.

11. Shark Reef Road and right on Burt Road. 

12. Left on Davis Bay Road. 

13. Straight onto Fisherman Bay Road (don't turn left). 

14. Left on Center Road. 

15. Right on School Road. 

16. Continue on Lopez Sound Road. 

17. Right on Port Stanley Road.

18. Right on Bakerview Road. Continue into Spencer Spit State Park. 

19. Bakerview Road and left on Port Stanley Road. 

20. Right on Hummel Lake Road. 

21. Right on Fisherman Bay Road. 

22. Left on Lopez Road. Arrive back at Village Cycles. 

Orcas Island in Winter

Allyson and I decided kind of last minute to head to Washington State for the holidays. We hadn't met our 5 month old twin nephews yet, and the rest of Allyson's family was planning a trip up there to see them and the rest of the clan. Obviously, we couldn't be in the Seattle area and not make it back to Orcas Island. We were last there for our wedding in August 2012. We have been there several time during summer months, but I had never been there in the winter. I was expecting dark and rainy the entire time and I was still fine with that. Nothing quite like getting cozy next to a fire looking out on the rain over the water with the fog covering the trees. However, we were pleasantly surprised! It only rained one morning in the 3 1/2 days we were there. And even then, we made the most of it.

I'm going to highlight what we did during our time on Orcas in this post. Then I'll dedicate two more posts to the hikes we did while we were on the island.

Day 1 - Getting to Orcas

Yes, it's a pain in the butt to get to Orcas, especially when you are coming from the east coast. We flew (not a direct flight) to Seattle and had to spend the night at the airport that night. The next morning we rented a car, stopped at a grocery store in Seattle (it was Christmas Day, so we are lucky something was open), and then made our way up to Anacortes (about a 2 hour drive from SeaTac). From Anacortes, we took the ferry to Orcas. Of course, we had to time all of this very carefully, because the ferries only leave a few times a day from Anacortes to Orcas Island. 

Despite all the careful planning and extended travel time, the rejuvenation I experienced on the island more than made up for it. 

The island experience starts in Anacortes. As soon as I see the ferry (or even hear it approaching), I get goosebumps. But even before we made it to the ferry, we made our way to a marina and park (I think it was Seafarers Memorial Park off Q Street) in Anacortes for lunch and a walk. We had such a blast checking out all the boats and encountered our first hooded merganser!

We lined up for the ferry about an hour before our scheduled departure time (3:35pm) and then were on our way. By the time we got to the island, the sun was setting. The days are so short up there in the winter! I knew they would be, but it was pretty crazy to wake up an hour and a half before the sunrise every morning!

 The Olympic Mountains from the ferry. 

We stayed in a well-appointed studio at SeaStar Lofts right in Eastsound, directly on the water. It's a great little place from which we could walk to restaurants, beaches, shops, etc. I think in the summer, the noise from the bar and grill next door would get annoying, but in the winter it was perfect! And watching the sunrises and sunsets while warming up next to our gas stove was exactly what we were aiming for on this trip!

Day 2 
In the morning, we took our time getting up and around. We watched the sunrise while drinking our tea. We didn't feel like getting in our car right away, so we decided to go for a long walk around Eastsound. We went down by Odd Fellows Hall, where we got married (you can see more of our wedding photos here and here), and out on the dock at the end of Haven Road. Then we went north of town by the school, and then over to Ship Bay to walk along the beach for awhile.

 Skate park at the school

 I think this guy is a Bufflehead duck, but I'm no bird expert. If you know, please comment!

 Looking out on Ship Bay

After our lovely walk, we went back to our studio and made some lunch. Then we got in the car and drove over to Turtleback Mountain Preserve for a hike. When I first started coming to Orcas Island, this area wasn't open for hiking. This was our first time exploring the trails on Turtleback Mountain. Most visitors frequent the more popular (and also incredible) Moran State Park. Both are worth a visit! If you have never been to Orcas Island, you have to hike Mount Constitution. You can see details of our last hike up Mount Constitution here. However, since we've done that a few times, I was excited to explore a new part of the island.

I provide more details about our two hikes in Turtleback Mountain Preserve on other posts (Turtleback North and Turtleback South). However, here are a couple highlights from this day's hike (5.5 miles) from the North Trailhead out to Waldron Overlook and Turtlehead (1005 feet).

 North Valley Overlook and Mount Constitution in the distance

 Waldron Island

Magical view from Turtlehead

Day 3

The forecast for this day was rain all day. We were prepared for that. This day is when I realized that when I check the Eastsound weather forecast on my phone from North Carolina, I shouldn't believe it. All day my phone said 70% or higher chance of rain. It always said it was raining. And yet, the sun came out in the afternoon for an absolutely gorgeous afternoon and sunset! 

But back to the rain. It did pour in the morning. We decided it would be fun to do a trail run at Mountain Lake in Moran State Park. The trail around the lake is a 3.9 mile long loop and through big redwood trees. We figured we would be sheltered from a lot of the rain. I obviously didn't bring my camera for the run, but it was beautiful and the cold rain was invigorating. I'm glad we didn't chicken out because of a little rain. 

No better way to follow up a run in the rain than with brunch. We went to Mia's Cafe in Eastsound and had an incredible brunch with hot tea and some of the best biscuits ever.

After a warm shower, we spent the rest of the day relaxing in our studio and walking around town. We spent some time shopping in Darvill's Bookstore and had dinner at a fabulous farm to table pizza place called Hogstone. Yum! We finished up by getting a drink at the best-named bar, The Barnacle. 

 Odd Fellows Hall

Day 4 - Heading back to reality

We headed back to Seattle/Tacoma and began that journey on the 12:20pm ferry. This gave us plenty of time to get one more hike in! We hiked to Ship Peak from the South Trailhead at Turtleback Mountain Preserve, so we could get a good sense of all the preserve has to offer. Another great hike that I will provide more details about in another post! For now, here are the highlights from our morning hike to Ship Peak. 

 West Overlook

Quick stop on the side of Deer Harbor Road on the way to the ferry

If my pictures don't sell you, I'm not sure what will. Turtleback Mountain is a must do when you are on Orcas Island. If you are looking for a place that isn't swarming with people but has some of the best views you will see anywhere, this is your spot. Either of the hikes we did will not disappoint. And the hike to the vista points is just as beautiful, with moss covered trees, rocks...heck, everything is covered in moss. It's incredible. 

Once again, Orcas Island, you have taken my breath away. I am already thinking about when I can next come to visit...hopefully for longer than a few days. How about forever?