Summer 2018
San Juan Islands & Olympics Ride
Spend six days cycling through Southern California’s beautiful desert landscapes
About the Ride
Discover the best of the Pacific Northwest on this exciting international route that explores the Salish Sea, which includes Puget Sound, the Georgia Strait, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Join the interest list for next time!
Seattle, Washington
We’ll ride on 5 different islands and enjoy some beautiful roads on the Olympic Peninsula as well.
Event Details
Positive Planet Impact
Full Event Story
Climate Ride Pacific Northwest is an exciting international route that explores the Salish Sea (which includes Puget Sound, the Georgia Strait, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca) while cycling counter-clockwise and discovering the best of the Pacific Northwest. On this itinerary, we will start and end our charitable bike ride in Seattle and we’ll visit Washington State’s San Juan Islands, and the Olympic Peninsula.
You’ll bike along beautiful rugged beaches, visit historic port towns, breathe the cool, fresh air of the temperate rainforest, and cycle to the peaks of the stunning Olympic Mountains. From tide pools to glaciers, this five-day charitable cycling adventure offers a diverse array of landscapes that deliver the cycling experience of a lifetime accompanied by many new friends.
This charitable event is meant to be challenging yet doable, and you have all day to ride your bike and learn. This event is fully supported and our team is always nearby to assist you, keep you happy and healthy, and make your adventure worry-free and memorable.
Riders will have access to our superb personal fundraising software and the full support of our team.
Daily cycling mileages to suit all types of cyclists. This is a fully supported ride which means you can focus on the pedaling and making connections with your new friends while we take care of everything from overnight details, meals, snacks, luggage transport, and much more to make your trip as enjoyable as possible. Learn more in the FAQ.
Photo Gallery
Itinerary Overview
Itinerary subject to change, your Ride Guide will include full details.
Bike 40 Miles, 1,900 feet of elevation gain
After meeting up with you in Seattle, we’ll shuttle to Anacortes where we’ll jump on an hour-long ferry ride to Lopez Island. Keep an eye out for otters, harbor seals and orcas as we navigate the hour-long trip through the beautiful San Juan Islands. Set your clocks to ‘island time’ because today’s bike ride explores the best of Lopez Island’s quiet roads. After a picnic lunch on the island, we’ll cycle a loop through farmland and along beaches and then back to our camp for a tasty welcome dinner.
Bike 30 or 45 Miles, 2,600 or 5,200 feet of elevation gain
After breakfast in camp, we’ll board a ferry to Orcas Island. We’ll ride to the far side of the largest of the San Juan Islands and climb the challenging and scenic Mt Constitution which sits at 2,400 feet above sea level and is the highest point in the San Juans. We’ll have a pack lunch before taking an afternoon ferry back to our camp on Lopez Island but not before you explore Shaw Island, the smallest, and quietest of the San Juan Islands served by the Washington State Ferry system.
Bike 30, or 50 Miles
Day 3 begins with another ferry ride to the largest of the San Juan Islands, San Juan Island! This hilly and challenging loop will take us to the prettiest points San Juan Island has to offer.
Bike 59 or 91 Miles
Today we’ll ride over Deception Pass and pedal down Whidbey Island before hopping on another boat to cross over to the Olympic Peninsula. We’ll enjoy this funky victorian town and camp right on the beach for our last night of the trip. There, we’ll enjoy some of the area’s famed local flavors and celebrate our journey together.
Bike 30 Miles
On our last day of cycling, we’ll jump on the ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island, catching views of distant Mount Baker and Mount Rainier. Once on Whidbey, we’ll pedal through towering forests on quiet roads and enjoy our final picnic of the week along the way. Then, it’s a quick bike ride to the ferry terminal which takes us back to the mainland where we’ll pack up our bikes and gear and shuttle back to Seattle to say our goodbyes.
Ready to get started?
FAQs and More Info
Accommodations & Meals
Climate Ride Pacific Northwest is a 4-night, 5-day cycling event that showcases the best of the Pacific Northwest.
Each evening, we’ll be staying in campgrounds or indoor accommodations. Three of the nights are camping, so you should bring your tent, sleeping bag, and pad. There are no showers at our camp on night 1 and 2 but there are public showers available in Lopez Village just 3 miles away.
All meals will be provided from Lunch on Day 1 to Lunch on day 5.
On Climate Ride Pacific Northwest, camp becomes a traveling village and dynamic community. In the evenings after dinner, we’ll gather for our Evening Program which features speakers, roundtable discussions, and other events. Cycling doesn’t get better than on Climate Ride.
Travel Information
The charitable trip begins with pick-ups at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), which is very easy to get to from nearly anywhere in the country. It is located about 14 miles south of downtown Seattle with daily flights offered by many carriers. We recommend arriving the day prior to the bike ride start.
The shuttle will pick up at a designated hotel near the airport at 6:00 am on the morning the trip begins.
If you’re staying in downtown Seattle before the trip, SeaTac is a 45-min ride south on the Link light rail system. The light rail travels between Westlake Station in downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport, making 11 stops along the way. Link trains run every 7.5, 10 or 15 minutes depending on the time of day. Service is available from 5 am to 1 am Monday through Saturday and from 6 am to midnight on Sunday and holidays. Adult fares range from $2.25 to $3.00 depending on how far you travel. Visit www.soundtransit.org/tripplanner for more information.
After the pick-up, we will have a two-hour shuttle up to our ferry. From Anacortes, we will sail to Lopez Island, where our first day’s cycling begins.
At the end of the bike ride event, you can depart in downtown Seattle and extend your stay, or we’ll shuttle you back to SeaTac airport to catch an evening flight. Please do not make plans to depart SeaTac airport (SEA) before 7 pm.
More travel information will be provided in the Travel Planner which will be available after you register.
Do I need my passport?
No, Due to the suspension of the Washington State Ferry route from the San Juan Islands to Vancouver Island, we won’t be entering Canada on this trip.
Fundraising Beneficiaries
Cyclists can choose from the more than 100 incredible beneficiary organizations in our network! One of the things that make Climate Ride such an effective charitable event is that you can select the organization(s) you wish to fundraise for from our extensive list of beneficiary organizations. Our beneficiaries were selected for their work on the environment, conservation, sustainability, climate education, and active transportation advocacy. At the end of the year, Climate Ride grants the proceeds from our events to these hard-working organizations.
Fundraising and Transfer Deadlines | Important Dates
Fundraising Deadlines:
| $500 to be raised by: | TBD |
| $1,750 to be raised by: | TBD |
| $3,500 to be raised by: | TBD |
Transfer Deadline: TBD
Note: If you’d like to register after or near a fundraising deadline, don’t worry, we’re here to help you get up to speed!
More Questions?
Be sure to review our general FAQ and policies or contact us!