Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tion, a pioneering agritourism project, and an unhurried tempo of life best epitomized by
the island maximum speed limit - a tortoiselike 25mph. Often described as a state of
mind rather than a physical entity, Lummi is sprinkled with enough simple diversions to
consume a weekend of quiet serendipity. Pencil in cycling around the 7-mile road loop,
hiking 1664ft Baker Mountain (the second-highest point in offshore Washington), pick-
tia View Rd)
, and counting whales in nearby Rosario Strait. Many of the roads and beaches
are private, however, so exploration is limited and takes a little time.
The uphill slog to the top of
Baker Mountain
starts at the tiny Baker Reserve parking
lot just south of the junction of Suncrest Dr and Sunrise Rd and traverses a protected pre-
serve managed by the Lummi Island Trust. The beautiful hike through shady fern forest
is steep for the first 15 minutes and then flattens out for peek-a-boo views of the San
Juan Islands from an elongated ridge.
Willows Inn
( 360-758-2620;
www.willows-inn.com
; 2579 West Shore Dr; r from $175;
)
is a 100-year-old inn with a variety of compact but cozy rooms poised above the
Rosario Strait. It also has a creative, upscale restaurant where pretty much all the ingredi-
ents are plucked from nearby farms or the island's unique reef-net fishing operation (the
owner is an experienced reef-net fisherman).
ROAD TRIP: CHUCKANUT DRIVE
Chuckanut Dr (SR11) is one of the West Coast's most spectacular and historic
coastal back roads, a thin ribbon of winding asphalt that provides a refreshing al-
ternative to the cars speeding along busy I-5. Running 21 miles from Old Fairhaven
in Bellingham down to Burlington in Skagit County, the route takes in the craggy
coastline overlooking the San Juan Islands, protecting hidden beaches and a
2500-acre state park, and offering such myriad diversions as hiking, cycling,
beachcombing and fine dining along the way.
Defying steep oceanside terrain, the 'drive' was first laid out in 1896 to link What-
com County with Mt Vernon and Seattle to the south. In 1912 a railcar was added
on the northern part of the route and in 1915 local entrepreneur Charles Larrabee
donated 20 acres of Chuckanut Mountain to make Washington's first state park.
But in the 1920s, as traffic demands between Seattle and Vancouver exploded,
Hwy 99 (now I-5) was constructed further east to ply an easier route through the
coastal lowlands, leaving Chuckanut as something of a rural road relic.
If you're ambling by, be sure to pull over at the spectacularly located
Oyster Bar
(2578 Chuckanut Dr;
11:30am-10pm)
for a laid-back lunch.
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