Saturday (43 km)

We’ll meet at the Victoria Airport in Sidney at the Bicycle Workstation (gazebo in parking lot) at 11 AM.  From there, we will ride south to the Neighbourhood Pub for lunch then to Butchart Gardens. After the gardens, we’ll continue south on quiet backroads and pathways complete with railway tunnels into downtown Victoria.  An alternative route south to Victoria exists along the East coast of Saanich Peninsula.  The trail leads past small farms, over trestles and lakes. From approximately Oak Bay, you can pick up the scenic coastal route to our accommodations in downtown Victoria.  This route offers frequent marine vistas, pathways and traffic calmed streets--one of the most picturesque cycle routes in North America. Map

Our ferry departs a few blocks from our accommodations at the Inner Harbor.  After a 90 minute sail to Port Angeles and a brief lunch overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we pickup the Discovery Trail for 40 km of paved pathway to the refurbished rail trestle near the town of Sequim and our night’s lodgings. Sequim is situated on the Dungeness Peninsula, which contains a network of scenic backroads—another pocket of cycling heaven. Map   Olympic Discovery Trail

Monday (57 km)    

Monday starts with a delightful ride through the valleys, forests and farms of the Dungeness Peninsula. Skirting Sequim Bay and Discovery Bay, we srife short sections of Highway 101, punctuated with a bypass along the Old Gardner Hwy (complete with wooden trestles) through Blinn and onto the new Larry Scott Memorial Trail pathway near Port Townsend for the last several kilometers. Local artists have erected bicycle sculptures made from recycled bikes and chunks of drift wood along the trail. Map

Tuesday (32 km)

Try to get up early and see a little of Port Townsend—it is a photogenic town with lots of Victorian architecture.  Our next leg starts with a ferry ride across to Whidbey Island.  There are several scenic routes to Coupeville from Keystone Ferry Terminal.  Coupeville is touristy village with waterfront eateries and pubs.  Post lunch, we’ll journey on to the town of Oak Harbor via the west shore of Whidbey Island.Map

 Wednesday (67 km) 

And finally, the tulips.  A quick spin up the shoulder of Hwy 20 takes us across Deception Pass Bridge.  There is a pull off half way across where we can stop for some superb views of the ocean tidal bore far below.   We swing around the north end of Similk Bay then through the Tulalip Indian reserve and first glimpses of the tulip fields below.  We break at LaConner for a look at one of the up-scale tourist towns on the Washington coast. From LaConner we cruise  across 20 kms of rich Skagit Valley river delta and its fields of tulips and daffodils o our accommodations at Mt Vernon.

Thursday (50 km)

Our second day in tulip heaven is spent touring the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival , looping out along the winding irrigation canals and farms of Fir Island and Conway.  Some like to take the day off or ride back to LaConner and its art galleries, antique emporiums and microbreweries/pubs. Traditionally on Thursday night we find our way to the Kiwanis Tulip Festival Salmon BBQ for alder smoked salmon, baked potato and salad. Map

Friday (35-40km)

We re-explore the tulip fields as we cruise back through LaConner and up to Fidalgo Bay. We pick up another pathway, this one on a converted rail trestle that takes us across the Bay to Anacortes and on to the ferry to San Juan Island and our accommodations in the village of Friday Harbour.   Friday Harbor becomes our base of operations for the next few days. Map

Saturday (75 km)

A circle loop around San Juan Island with stops at Roche Harbor, Young Hill and the Limehouse Kiln lighthouse whale watch. Young Hill is a 1 km hike up to a commanding view of the San Juan Islands and Victoria. San Juan Island is a feast of quiet roads, some though shady rain forest canopies, whale watches, marine vistas and hills. Map  

Sunday (30-50 km)

Lopez Island is our destination for the day, using the ferry service in the morning and afternoon.  Lopez a relatively flat island with lots of roads.   Shark Reef Beach is a 1 km hike from the road through an old growth forest and is a favourite place for lunch.  Lopez is a thankfully flattish island compared to San Juan.  For those who have the legs, Orcas Island is a scenic but hilly island with lots of backroads.  The big climb on Orcas is Mt Consititution and is a real challenge to access and climb then return for the late ferry back to San Juan Island. Map

Monday (50 km)

The ferry back to Victoria departs around 9:30 AM from Friday Harbor.  When we disembark in Sidney on Vancouver Island and have lunch, the tour’s most scenic route around Landsend at the northern tip of the Saanich Peninsula awaits.  Short rollers; skinny winding roads; a few resident pedestrians out enjoying their community and gardens; and an occasional whiff of wood smoke lead us to pocket size rhododendron garden hidden in the forest at Towner Crest.  This private garden features over 1000 varieties of rhodos and azaleas, and unlike Butchart Gardens, admission is free. Then it’s a short ride along Union Bay to the Victoria airport to prepare our bikes for the flight home.  Map