Lummi Island, Willows Inn, Legoe Bay

We really enjoyed Lummi Island… a very relaxing three days away to a rural and mostly non-touristy trip back a few decades in time. We deliberately chose to go during the 3 weeks of every year when the small car ferry is in dry dock for regular maintenance, and there is only an even smaller passenger ferry available. This required leaving our car on the mainland in the Lummi Reservation and bringing our bikes as transportation. A great way to see the island anyhow, and it forced us to slow down the pace and see more of Lummi than we would have otherwise.

We knew that the innkeepers at The Willows Inn would come to the ferry dock and pick up our bags in their van, so no special packing was needed. The van then headed back to the inn and we pedaled away for an early dinner at the Beach Cafe overlooking the waterfront, one of only a couple places to eat on the island. The only other apparent commercial activity was the Willows Inn itself, another small B&B, a grocery store, a coffee shack, and some artisan and nursery shops sprinkled around. The occasional farmer’s roadside stand made for nice on-the-fly freshly picked lunches.

The Willows Inn was a pleasure. Perched by the road since 1912, it overlooked the west facing view across the water to Orcas Island and Matia Island. Terrific sunsets from its covered deck for eating, and access to walk the private driftwood-strewn beach below. The inn has private-entrance rooms, a couple separate cabins, hot tub, a fancy restaurant, and a casual cafe. The owners – the wife a prior nurse and the husband a former and still practicing reefnet fisherman – are practitioners of the slow food movement. They started up the hill by creating The Nettles Farm, and most of the food and eggs come from that farm directly to the professional chef’s stove and your own table. Very fresh, very organic, very tasty.

Bicycling around the island is a real treat. The island is at most 9 miles long and 2 miles wide, so getting around by bike is easy. Although there are no shoulders on the roads, there also isn’t much car traffic, especially on this weekend without the car ferry in operation. There are very scenic loop routes along the eastern, western, and northern coastlines, plus small dead-end lanes to explore and find private farms, artist studios, and pastoral scenery.

The Lummi Island Heritage Trust has also become increasingly active in preserving parts of the island’s natural, rural, and historical character. We hiked through both of their main preserves: the Otto Preserve (containing forest in various stages of growth, with interpretive trail signs and brochures) and the Curry Preserve (with dense forest leading to an open pasture and vista). It was interesting, though, that there was literally no sign whatsoever at the road for either of these locations. By using our map, triangulating on the location, and going up a gravel driveway that looked promising at each spot, we ended up at these destinations. Without the map you’d have no real idea if you were going onto someone’s private property or not. They apparently want to keep the number of visitors down to “only those in the know” and not encourage random walk-ins. Both are worth the effort, and they provide a pleasant walk and inland counterpart to the shoreline vistas that make up much of the main loop roads.

We biked all the way to the southernmost public access on the island, though there is surprisingly still quite a bit of private and not easily accessed land well beyond that area. Going south to the road’s end, the ground rises along the shoulders of Lummi Peak, and the biking became a bit more of a workout. Pretty views, a private swimming lake, and the occasional funky cabin or home with a green roof provided surprises along the way.

This is the kind of place that will grow and become very expensive if nearby Bellingham ever becomes huge and deep-pocketed. But for now and at least the near future, it was a great quiet getaway and very worth a leisurely extended weekend visit.