Don’t be startled on your first visit to Lopez Island when people wave to you from their cars. This is “the Friendly Isle”—15 miles long with 63 miles of shoreline and 2,500 year-round residents. The Lopez landscape blends forests with rolling farmlands, quiet bays and driftwood-strewn beaches with distant views of mountain ranges and snow-tipped Mount Baker. Lopez Village offers quaint cafes, farm-to-table restaurants, a bookstore, galleries, a historical museum, a library, and unique shops.  

Lopez’s natural beauty and quality of life have attracted a variety of residents—artists, craftspeople, entrepreneurs, musicians, farmers, fishermen, and nature lovers. Scandinavian farmers arrived here in the 1850s, drawn by the island’s gentle topography, and Lopez Island farms today raise an eclectic range of products, from sheep to llamas, wine grapes to apples, and pears to kiwis.

Lopez offers the easiest cycling of the three main San Juan Islands. Consider bringing your bike for a day or weekend of scenic cycling, or rent one from Lopez Bicycle Works or Village Cycles.  (The interisland ferry from Orcas Island or San Juan Island is free for walk-on passengers and cyclists.) You may want to schedule your Lopez visit to coincide with one of the island’s special annual events—the Tour de Lopez bicycle tour each spring. Always scheduled for the last Saturday in April, Tour de Lopez is a non-competitive, rural road tour that offers short and long routes through the island’s varied landscape. You can also explore Lopez Island through a cycling or driving tour, paddle the rocky shoreline on a kayak tour, take a long walk on one of the islands many beaches, or hike the forest and byways of this tranquil island.