Lopez Island WA

[Wasp]

Hi everyone,
Has anyone cycled Lopez Island in Washington state, and has any helpful info or tips? We are wondering where we would leave our car prior to taking the ferry over to Lopez island. Where did you stay, eat?.
From what I have gleamed off the web, it seems to be about 36 miles around the island. From all accounts the initial hill right off the ferry is a doozie, but the rest of the island is relatively flat. Sounds like a really nice place to spend the day on a bike.

[smittykitty]

We rode it a couple years ago. We camped on Orcas and drove to San Juan and Lopez. So I'm sorry I can't answer most of your questions, but we had a great time. Talk about beautiful!

Check the WA state ferry site. You may be able to leave your car in Anacortes at the terminal (or possibly get some info about parking). The terminal is not in the heart of town, but a bit out of town.

Lopez has several hills but none too steep. Cute little town across the island from the ferry dock. I remember good ice cream! Quite country roads. Not a whole lot there as far as accommodations and restaurants. As we only spent the day, we had dinner in Anacortes. We had a great time and would go back again.
Also check with their Chamber of Commerce or tourism site. I know there is at least one motel.

Good luck finding info. You have a great time ahead of you. Can't wait for your ride report!

[Eden]

here's the state ferry schedule http://www.wsdot.com/ferries/schedule/ScheduleDetailByRoute.aspx?route=ana-sj
There's also information about the terminals - Anacortes has a pay parking lot that allows long term parking near the ferry terminal.

I've not actually been to the San Juans... I keep meaning to try to get up there, but the ferry schedule makes it a bit of a logistical difficulty to make it a day trip....

[Crankin]

We rode it last summer. We were staying in Friday Harbor, so we just hopped on the ferry. I have to say that the ferries were on time as promised and great. However, getting to the San Juans from the east coast, with 2 huge suitcases and 2 bikes in suitcases was more exhausting than traveling to Europe!
The island is flat and rural. The hill out of the ferry is well, a hill, but other than that, I don't remember anything. There was one area, not too far from the ferry where there were a few restaurants, and we ate there. Frankly, not that much to do there! It would be nice for renting a cottage and relaxing for a week, but after we rode the whole island, we had just missed the ferry and there wasn't another one for a *long* time. We got a snack at the restaurant by the ferry, (which then closed) and sat on a hard bench and waited. It was freezing and getting dark. Thankfuly, I had arm warmers and leg warmers to put on.
Maybe I am jaded. I am glad I went there, but I actually enjoyed the 2 days we spent in Seattle more.

[rebeccaC]

I was there just last week. Yeah, leave your car at the Anacortes ferry landing. I stayed on San Juan and rode there the first day, took the ferry to Lopez the next morning, rode Lopez and took the ferry to Orcas that night, stayed on Orcas and rode there the last day. Great three days of riding!!! It rained the first night but was dry with fog in the mornings and cloudy during the days.
I wouldn't say Lopez was flat. There is a good climb coming off the ferry and descents down to and climbs back out from its beaches but it's the least hilly of those three islands. I had a really tasty lunch in the village at Vita's, which is vegan friendly too if that's you.. On the opposite end of the island from the ferry there is a bed and breakfast named MacKaye's that a couple people I met riding said was very good and looked nice as I rode by it. Lopez had a nice alt-culture and artistic vibe and made for a nice days ride between the more hilly San Juan Island and the steep climbs of Orcas.
Personally for just a days ride I'd do San Juan and ride out to the end of American Camp or out to Roche Harbor. On San Juan I stayed at the Friday Harbor House which has great views of the harbor, ferry landing and has a very good restaurant.

I posted some photos of my trip in the 2013 summer adventures thread.

ENJOY your day of riding!!!!!!

[Crankin]

I agree with Rebecca. I didn't do Orcas, but we really enjoyed riding on San Juan Island, once you get out of Friday Harbor. We did 3 rides, and we took the shuttle to the English camp and hiked up the hill there, which was also awesome. Maybe I didn't know what to do on Lopez, but it just seemed like there was nice scenery, but not a lot of stopping places. I think we ate at the same restaurant as Rebecca.
Overall, while the riding was pleasant, the roads were chip seal (my first experience with that), which I didn't like, even with my titanium bike. I find that I don't really like riding in beach areas (anywhere) in the summer and I avoid it like the plague around here. Too many people, especially the ones who don't know where they are going.

[smittykitty]

There are roads without chipseal?????? We didn't try riding Orcas. Narrow and hilly. Drove that one.

[Crankin]

I have never seen a road with chip seal in the Greater Boston area. Or in any other part of Massachusetts.

[smittykitty]

We get just giddy when we wonder onto a road without chipseal! You are so lucky.

[Wasp]

Thanks to everyone who responded, your tips were a great help.
How did our day on Lopez go? Well, we did manage to actually get over to the island, and its really picturesque. I loved the lavender, I could smell it quite a ways away. However DH and I are not great at getting organized and moving in the morning, and you definitely need to get over to Lopez before noon. We just missed the 1030 ferry, and the next ferry didn't leave until around 1220 (delayed due to fog) so we didn't actually get onto Lopez Island till around 1330. We started heading into the village area, but then realized our plan of taking the 1800 ferry back was not going to work out. We were staying at Washington State Park, and had ridden our bikes down to the ferry, taking the 1800 ferry back would of ment riding back to our campsite in the dark. Neither bike has any lights. Considering the road back to the park is fairly busy and the fog was rolling back in it just made sense to cut the trip to Lopez short and head back during daylight. Lessons learnt, both bikes are getting front and back lights, and DH and I just need to bite the bullet and get our a$$e$ moving sooner in the morning. Our next trip we shall be more organized!. However in our bumbling around the next day we stumbled upon a real gem Guemes Island! What a great place to ride a bike! We spent a day riding all over Guemes. Not much on the island other than homes and the odd store but its a really peaceful place to ride a bike. If you get the chance check it out:)