Our Trip to Lummi Island

Last week my wife and I spent two days on Lummi Island near the San Juan Islands in Washington State. While technically not one of the San Juans, Lummi is right there among them and equally as beautiful.

Anyway, the way you get there is to drive to Bellingham and take a small ferry across a short stretch of water. In fact, here's the ferry...

Whatcom County Ferry to Lummi Island. (C) Marc Osborn

We alighted on the island mid-day and decided we would hike up one of the bigger hills before checking into our hotel, the Willow's Inn. After a short drive, we hit the Baker Preserve Trail for a steep 1.6 mile ascent through the forest up to an eye popping overview point.

Here are a couple shots I took at the top...

View from Lummi Island at the top of the Baker Preserve Trail. (C) Marc Osborn

View from Lummi Island at the top of the Baker Preserve Trail. (C) Marc Osborn

After we arrived back at the bottom, we headed to one of the only two restaurants on the island - The Beach Store Cafe. Here, we sat on the front porch and enjoyed some cold beer on this hot afternoon.

After a while, we moved on to check into the Willow's Inn. This place does not have a single lodge or building. Rather, they have a number of nice properties around the island. We ended up staying in a the Barnes Room at their Reefnetter property. Out the front we had a view of the Puget Sound, surrounding islands, the small marina and a number of fishing platforms just off the coast. Out the back, our view was of a nature preserve. Check it out...

View out the back of our room on Lummi Island. (C) Marc Osborn

After freshening up, we went back to the Willow's Inn dining building for a first class tasting menu and wine pairing. Wow. We knew this place had a reputation as one of the best restaurants in the state, if not the country. It delivered. Not cheap, but a treat! Among my favorites were the bay-caught salmon, steamed local muscle and blueberry desert.

We finished our trip with a spectacular breakfast back at the Willow's Inn dining facility and then a nice seven mile loop around the island on our bikes. Throw in a stop for lunch in Bellingham at the Boundary Bay Brewpub, and...well...THAT was a great two days.



NOTE: Copyright for all photos in this post is owned by Marc Osborn. No use of any of these images for any purpose is permitted without prior written permission from Marc Osborn.