Tour de Lavender

Just when you thought all the lavender fun was finished for the summer – you were wrong. If you missed the Lavender Festival, or you prefer to avoid a crowd in Sequim while still enjoying the fields of lavender colored – well, lavender, join in the Tour de lavender, a cycling event with rides for every skill level and interest.

The Tour de Lavender takes place August 3 & 4, 2013. If you are a serious cyclist, looking for a dynamic and challenging ride, try the Metric Century Ride from the Kingston-Edmonds Ferry to Sequim. For families and recreational riders, enjoy a family fun ride thorough the lavender farms of Sequim. Read more about each of the routes below.

Metric Century Ride from the Kingston-Edmonds Ferry to Sequim

This is a classic long distance ride, taking place on Saturday, August 3, 2013. It will have all the technical support needed for a ride of this distance. The route will travel on back roads and the Olympic Discovery Trail with only 3 miles on Hwy 101. Our Olympic Discovery Trail is a very important part of this ride.

A part of the Olympic Discovery Trail in Sequim. Part of the route for Tour de Lavender.

The ride organizers have plans that include options for luggage delivery from the Ferry to Sequim local lodging, transportation to the Ride the Hurricane event on Sunday, and/or rider and luggage return to the ferry on Sunday afternoon. The entry fee is $40 per person. See the Tour de Lavdender website for more ride plans and packages.

Sequim Lavender Family Fun Ride

This family cycling tour is designed for parents and children of all ages and abilities on Saturday and Sunday, August 3-4, 2013. This is a relaxed trip for spouses or partners, kids, and even babies in “carriers,”or agile grandparents to visit welcoming lavender farms on the back-roads of the valley in what is a mostly level and easy route. Riders are encouraged to ride the Olympic Discovery Trail. Each of the five lavender farms on the ride will have special attractions for families.

This is a great reason to visit the Olympic Peninsula and enjoy a little wine tasting along the way!

Savor Life

We had a great turnout for the first weekend of our Red Wine and Chocolate Tour. Thanks to everyone who journeyed to the Olympic Peninsula to enjoy delicious combinations of locally made chocolate and Washington State Wine.

Olympic Peninsula Red Wine and Chocolate Tour

Take advantage of the upcoming long weekend and journey to the Olympic Peninsula for the Red Wine and Chocolate Tour.

If you were unable to make it to Port Townsend, Sequim, or Port Angeles wineries and cideries this past weekend, you’ll have another opportunity this weekend. The Red Wine and Chocolate Tour of Olympic Peninsula wineries continues February 18-20, 2012.

Spend a couple of nights in a romantic Port Townsend Bed and Breakfast. Rent a cozy cottage in Sequim. Book a room overlooking the water in Port Angeles. Allow yourself plenty of time to visit the eight Washington Wineries and Cideries participating in the Red Wine and Chocolate Tour. If you visit each one, you’ll be eligible to win an elegant gift basket.

Take advantage of the coming long weekend. Spend your time sipping wine, savoring chocolate, and immersing yourself in the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula. Visit Dungeness Spit. Walk the trails of Fort Warden. Ride your bikes along a stretch of the Olympic Discovery Trail. Visit a beautiful farm in Chimacum.

Please see our Red Wine and Chocolate Tour for additional information, and plan you weekend getaway now.

Discover the Olympic Discovery Trail

Park at the Railroad Bridge in Sequim and bike to one of our member wineries in Port Angeles.

One of the many wonderful qualities of Washington State is that it is home to such diverse terrain and climates. Tall volcanic peaks such as Mount Baker and Mount Rainier are snow-covered twelve months a year. The lush forests of the Hoh are green twelve months a year. There are ocean beaches and high plateaux. There are steep canyons, rolling palouse, and several mountain ranges.

This diversity means that the sun is almost always shining somewhere in the state.

On the Olympic Peninsula, the sun shines most frequently in the Olympic Rain Shadow; Sequim and Port Townsend are the two towns that benefit most from the sheltering presence of the Olympic Mountains. Whereas the Seattle area receives an average annual rainfall of close to 40 inches, Sequim receives approximately 15 inches a year. Port Townsend gets a whopping 17 inches. That is a significant difference.

The Olympic Discovery Trail is a great spot to stretch the legs with a run, a walk, or a bike ride. The trail currently stretches from Ediz Hook in Port Angeles to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Center at the south end of Sequim Bay. Other completed sections of the trail are in Port Townsend and west of Port Angeles. Eventually the trail will extend from Port Townsend to the Pacific Coast.

When the persistent low cloud cover in the Seattle area starts to bring you down this winter, load your bike in the car and head to the Olympic Discovery Trail. Make it a day trip or stay for a few days. It’ll do wonders for you.

While you’re on the Olympic Peninsula, we hope you’ll be in the mood to try some Washington State Wine and Cider. You’ll find three wineries on the Port Angeles end of the Olympic Discovery Trail: Camaraderie Cellars, Harbinger Winery, and Black Diamond Winery. Olympic Cellars is a great spot to rest mid-route; it sits near the border of Sequim and Port Angeles.

Stop for a taste, or pick up a bottle and enjoy it once you’re safely back home.

More information about the trail is available at Olympic Discovery Trail.

Biking and Wine Tasting on the Olympic Peninsula

Looking for a reason to leave the city and head to the Olympic Peninsula? How about a bike ride on the Olympic Discovery Trail?

The Olympic Discovery Trail currently stretches from the Jamestown S’Kallam Tribal Center in Blyn (about 6 miles south of Sequim) to Ediz Hook in Port Angeles. Much of it follows an old railroad route. It runs between Highway 101 and Sequim Bay and alongside the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Port Angeles. In the future, this trail will stretch from Port Townsend to the coast of Washington by La Push.

Washington State Wineries of the Olympic Peninsula support the completion of Olympic Discovery Trail. It provides a safe alternative to road biking, while connecting many communities on the north Olympic Peninsula. (more…)