San Juan Islands: One Perspective
By Ann Morrow
The San Juan Islands have been a favorite bicycling destination for me for many years. The Washington State Ferry rides, the constant beauty not only from the water but on the islands themselves, the idyllic setting that permeates you as you leave the mainland of Washington state and travel west to the islands all create the allure that brings me back for more. Oh, and hills. Those islands are hilly. Always another hill to slog up! They don’t add to the allure. I love the San Juans IN SPITE of the hills.
A group of PBC members and their friends explored these islands in early September. We started on San Juan Island in and around Friday Harbor. There were 23 of us on the ride and participants availed themselves of various accommodations: motel, tent, VRBO/Airbnb, bed and breakfast, glamping. Most were content with their stay, some complained of paper thin walls and delivery trucks in the early a.m. that awoke them. The weather after Labor Day was mild with highs in the 60s and lows in the 50s. Very comfortable. No rain.
Our first day of cycling began with a quick meeting at Lakedale Resort where many of us were staying. Then we headed out together to Roche Harbor. After consuming the requisite latte and climbing a very steep hill to get out of there, we breathlessly stopped at the Sculpture Park to look around and recover from that climb. We then headed to English Camp for some history, climbed out of there and pedaled on to Lime Kiln Point State Park and enjoyed the view there. While at Lime Kiln we learned from some of our friends who were traveling a different route that the Lavender Farm was closed and therefore, IF there was even any lavender ice cream there, we could not purchase any. This news was devastating to yours truly as I have hurtled past that place (as best as I can hurtle on a bike) the last two visits and not had any lavender ice cream. I had been determined to enjoy lavender ice cream in 2026. We left Lime Kiln and headed back toward Friday Harbor, passing the lavender farm and mourning the loss. Some of our group were scheduled for a kayaking tour and anxious to get back for that.
Day 2 we met around 8 a.m. in Friday Harbor to catch the 8:35 ferry to Lopez Island. Yes, for those of us riding our bikes from Lakedale it was an early day, in fact it was still dark when we got up. There were other cyclists doing some of the same things and it was fun to learn what they were up to. Lopez bills itself as having easy cycling routes and as “the friendly isle” but don’t be deceived. There is always another hill. I’ll tell you, we struggled at times with our maps and the road signs. They did not always match up and that was a challenge. We rode clockwise around the island, down to Agate Beach Park then moved on to explore Shark Reef Park which included some hiking on a trail. Finally, we moseyed into Lopez Village to scour for lunch. We all dispersed on our own missions for food. It seemed that after Labor Day there were fewer options but we all found a good lunch and coffee. Some excitement involved watching the loading of vehicles onto the return ferry and watching big trucks backing down the ramp onto the ferry – then failing to fit onto the ferry and coming back up the ramp.
Day 3 we caught the same morning ferry but went to Orcas Island. Again, maps and island signage did not always jibe but we muddled through. We headed to Deer Harbor to explore that a bit. Personally, my legs were tired and I was hesitant to take on too much (always another hill). I did not go all the way down into the Deer Harbor area with the group. Several also headed toward East Sound using Crow Valley Road which I heard had a super steep climb that was walked by a few. I chose to use the main highway and rode in the fairly wide shoulder. To my knowledge only 2 of our riders tackled Mt Constitution – Scott Poindexter and Khaliyah Williams-Rodrigez. Both were successful. Lunch in the East Sound was delicious and enjoyed in a nice park with a great view of the sound.
All in all my impression from the comments is that this multi-day adventure was a success. While we were a group, we did not always ride together. Independent exploration was encouraged. There were several E-bikes and, even though there was always another hill, those riders seemed to ride every mile they wanted to. Finding a place to charge the battery wasn’t an issue and most of our e-bike friends limit their battery use to the assist mode on their bikes, not the battery-sucking turbo mode. I think we appreciated the low traffic volume after the Labor Day holiday but maybe would have preferred a little more daylight if we had gone in August or even July.
Summertime multi-day rides such as this have been a treasured feature of our club since its inception (1971). Early tours to the Oregon coast, more lavish European trips and everything in between have been offered. Discussions are already taking place regarding 2027 ideas.
