# Orcas or San Juan?



## JustScott (Jan 10, 2005)

Hi All - I'm going to be visiting the northern Washington area at the end of July and I'll have one day to ride EITHER San Juan or Orcas island and I was looking for recommendations on which one to choose. My tentative plan is to drive up (I'll be riding in Oregon for a couple of days before) to Anacortes and spend the night there, leave the car there and take the bike over on the ferry, ride all day and then head back to Anacortes and drive to Camano Island for a wedding the next day (maybe get a ride in on Camano Island before the wedding...)

Anyway - if anyone has any opinions one way or the other I'd love to hear them. The climb up Mt. Constitution sounds great - I'm a fan of tough climbs. I'd like to get a good long ride in to make it worth the extra few hours of driving I'll need to do to get there.

Thanks a lot for any suggestions.

Scott


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## TiCruiser (Feb 21, 2009)

I've done the same day trip you are planning to both Islands. From a purely riding perspective, I have found Orcas to be a longer and more challenging ride. The view from the top of Constitution is great. When I go to San Juan it is with one of my 10- 13 year old daughters on the back of our tandem. It's a nice 35 mile loop around the island that has some rollers on the west side. It's bit further if you go down to the American Camp but we've never had the time to do it and make the ferry back. It can be done though if you are riding single and not entertaining kids. I think there are more things to see on San Juan. I've always managed to see some whales off of Lime Kiln St Park. Either ride is enjoyable and the other island will still be there next time you are up this direction.


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## JustScott (Jan 10, 2005)

Thanks for the reply. I'm leaning heavily towards Orcas - the climb to Mt. Constitution sounds great!

Scott


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## PdxMark (Feb 3, 2004)

We just this weekend did a day ride on and around Lopez, which was also great. Mt. Constitution would be a great climb, but Lopez is the first island stop on the ferry and is smaller (and quieter) than the other islands. If you're not set on a good hard climb, i'd consider Lopez.


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## Catapult (Nov 5, 2004)

Just got back from Orcas...Mt. Constitution is the way to go and the riding around the rest of the island is great...less traffic than San Juan as well.


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## Pacodog (Sep 5, 2005)

I was at San Juan Island last week. I rented a road bike at Island Bicycles. Spent the day doing the loop around the island. It was a good ride, no major traffic issues. Nice rolling hills.
We also went over to Orcas the next day but I didn't get a chance to ride. Constitution looked like a great climb, only problem was the road coming over from the ferry has no shoulder and the traffic was pretty heavy.


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## JustScott (Jan 10, 2005)

Thanks to all who replied. I ended up riding on Orcas and it was a great ride. It was a very hot day (got up to 100!) but that kept the crowds down. I found a route that took me off the main road (I'll post a link in a day or two) for most of the ride - this required a bit of riding on gravel roads, but they were pretty good quality (had no problem on my 23mm road tires). The ride up Mt. Constitution is a nice climb, and not too hard - a bit steep in spots, but only about 5 miles long, and it flattens out in the last mile. It was also pretty low traffic. The ride back down was a blast. I was able to pretty much circumnavigate the island in a few hours. Thanks again for the suggestions.

Scott


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