Lopez Island Bike Glamping and Farm Stay
- Lopez Island is the most bikeable of the San Juan Islands due to its low-traffic roads, ocean views, colorful farms, and friendly locals.
- Check out the photos of our bike glamping trip to Lopez, where we explored the island’s scenic bike routes and mountain bike trails.
- Glamp in comfort at Lopez Farm Cottages, which is offering Cascade members a discount on stays in its cushy platform tents.
Paul Tolmé
We parked our car at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal, unloaded our bicycles, donned our backpacks, and pedaled aboard the ferry bound for Lopez Island.
It was a Friday morning, and our plan was to enjoy a two-night, three-day, bike glamping trip on Lopez, which is a 90-minute drive and 30-minute ferry trip from Seattle.
Located in the Salish Sea near San Juan and Orcas islands, Lopez offers scenic road, gravel, and mountain biking routes that make it the ideal location for a visit by bike.
My wife, Katie, and I traveled lightly, carrying one backpack each with our clothing and toiletries, plus fanny packs for day rides around the island.
Disembarking from the ferry, we joined about 20 other people on bikes–many carrying tents and camping gear to stay at Spencer Spit State Park or Odlin County Park, which are both conveniently located within a short ride of the Lopez Island Ferry Terminal.
We had even comfier accommodations: a luxurious walled tent at Lopez Farm Cottages, a 29-acre organic farm with wooden cabins, wall tents on raised platforms, and traditional campsites in the woods, all located just 2.6 miles from the ferry terminal.
With hot showers, electricity for charging devices or electric bikes, and exceedingly friendly owners, Lopez Farm Cottages is ideal for people seeking an overnight bike adventure in a rural farm setting without having to rough it.
Owners Mariko McKittrick and her husband Jordy Hamilton moved to Lopez Island in 2021 from Los Angeles, seeking a better lifestyle closer to nature.
Mariko is half Black and half Japanese, and she found the rocky beaches, kelp, salmon, marine wildlife, scenery, and landscape reminiscent of Japan. Jordy was raised by homesteaders in rural Ontario, Canada, and he spent a decade in Vancouver, British Columbia, for university. Moving to Lopez felt like returning to a familiar landscape for both of them.
We learned of Lopez Farm Cottages from Cascade Executive Director Lee Lambert, who stayed here while participating in the Tour de Lopez bike ride in April. Our friend Doc Wilson, the founder of Peace Peloton, has also stayed here multiple times and likewise raved about the experience.
After checking in and dropping off our backpacks, we headed out to explore Lopez Island.
Biking on Lopez Island
Our first stop was Lopez Village, the island’s main town with two grocery stores, restaurants, food trucks, a microbrewery, and a great independent bike shop for repairs or bike rentals.
Village Cycles has a helpful Day Trip Guide and bike maps of Lopez Island that we used to plan our rides. We also downloaded island maps to our phones because phone coverage is limited to T-Mobile, which made the wifi at Lopez Farm Cottages extremely valuable.
Covering 29 square miles, Lopez is small enough to explore in a day or two–especially if riding an e-bike or lightweight road bike. Katie and I brought our hardtail mountain bikes so that we could ride the four miles of trails at Lopez Hill, a 400-acre conservation and recreation area managed by the San Juan County Land Bank. I was also testing a new Priority 600 HXT for review on Cascade News at a future date, and Lopez Hill's twisty trails were an ideal testing ground.
Lopez is considered the most bike-friendly of the San Juan Islands because it is less hilly than Orcas or San Juan islands, and because its lower population means there are fewer motor vehicles.
However, the island has no bike infrastructure or bike lanes, which means visitors should be comfortable riding on roads with small or no shoulders. Avoid Center Road and Mud Bay Road, which have a 45 mph speed limit and the most car traffic. Stick to Fisherman Bay Road, Davis Bay Road, Port Stanley Road, and Lopez Sound Road for the fewest cars.
Kenny, the owner of Village Cycles says September and October are prime times to visit due to the lower number of tourists and visitors on the island. If you need to rent a bicycle or e-bike, Village Cycles will even drop off and pick them up at the ferry terminal for an additional $5.
Here are some of our favorite bike destinations that we visited during our stay:
- Fisherman Bay Spit Preserve. Located at the end of a sandy spit with the ocean to the West and the protected marshlands of Fisherman Bay to the East, this conservation area and its grassy meadows are a great spot for a picnic. Bikes are not allowed on the trails, but there are bike racks for locking up. Stop at Otis Perkins Day Park along Bayshore Road on the way to or from Fisherman Bay Spit Preserve to stroll the beach and watch the gulls soaring overhead.
- Spencer Spit State Park. This waterside park and campground is about 2.5 miles from Lopez Farm Cottages and three miles from Lopez Village. After visiting the park, ride down to the beach at Port Stanley along Swifts Bay for more ocean views.
- Lopez Hill. The trails here are technically challenging, with lots of roots and rocks and short descents followed by short but steep climbs up to rocky balds. Don’t bother trying to ride these trails on a gravel bike. But even if you don’t ride the singletrack trails, the ride to and from Lopez Hill along Lopez Sound Road is forested and serene, with little traffic.
- Shark Reef Sanctuary has a nature trail out to the island’s western edge where you can look at tidepools and see an array of seabirds, seals, and marine mammals. No bikes allowed, so bring a lock to lock up if you plan to get on the trail.
Due to rain on one day of our visit, we didn’t make it to the southern tip of the island to visit Agate Beach, Point Colville, and Watmaugh Bay—though we surely will during our next visit.
“Watmaugh Bay is amazing,” says Kenny of Village Cycles. “It’s my number one recommendation. You get the pebble beach in the foreground, the islands in the middle distance, and in the far distance you can see Mount Baker on a clear day.”
Bike Glamping at Lopez Farm Cottages
Back at Lopez Farm Cottages, we enjoyed playing with the two resident cats–Kombu and Nori–as well as sitting in the Adirondack chairs in front of our wall tent, where we relaxed following our daytime bike rides and watched dusk turn to night in relative quiet. There are no TVs, no music (unless through headphones), and no kids under age 14 allowed at Lopez Farm Cottages. The farm's sheep herd and chickens were all the entertainment we needed.
If the wall tents are booked, Katie and I wouldn’t hesitate to return and use the campsites–thanks to the hot showers and a covered space with hot water on demand, a fireplace, abundant picnic tables–and a bocce ball court!
While the scenery and biking was amazing, our favorite part of visiting Lopez was getting to know Mariko and Jordy. They are unique, talented, and kind individuals who have curated a peaceful and bucolic habitat for others to share.
On Sunday afternoon, we pedaled back to the ferry, sad to depart but thrilled to have experienced the culture and landscapes of Lopez Island–a special place to which we shall return.
To encourage more visits by bike, Mariko and Jordy are offering discounts to Cascade members through Dec. 20. Use the promotional code LopezCascades to get 10% off one-night stays, 15% off a second night, or book three nights and get the third free. lopezfarmcottages.com
Share this post
