Bicycling Adventures Through the Sequim-Dungeness Valley
May is National Bike Month and it’s a perfect time to plan a cycling trip to the Sequim-Dungeness Valley. Dedicated trails, quiet country roads, clear blue skies, fertile farmland, and a welcoming community await you on your visit.
Olympic Discovery Trail
The Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT), a 135-mile non-motorized trail that stretches from Port Townsend, east of Sequim, to La Push out west on the Pacific coast, flows right through the City of Sequim. Biking the trail through Sequim will take you into Carrie Blake Park, featuring beautiful trees, gardens, and stunning views of the Olympic Mountains. Just west of town, you will travel through historic Railroad Bridge Park, home to the Dungeness River Nature Center. There you will find educational displays, programs, classes, and activities to learn more about the Dungeness River Watershed and local wildlife. Cyclists can travel 15 miles west on the completed trail to Port Angeles and 25 miles east to Port Townsend on finished portions of the trail and on public roads. There are plenty of rest stops and amenities along the way.
Join a Group Ride
Several local organizations host regular rides offering an array of different experiences. You can learn more about the rides through the Sequim Bicycle Alliance.
Sequim Bike Studio hosts Wednesday Night Gravel Rides for 20 – 30 miles at a relaxed pace. They also host Bikepacking 101 trips that might be an overnight trip or span many days biking on trails and dirt roads.
The Spoke Folks meet three times a week and welcome riders for 20-mile, moderately paced rides departing from Downtown Sequim.
Women on Wheels has developed a series of trail directions and hosts twice-weekly rides starting at the Dungeness River Nature Center at Railroad Bridge Park.
Sequim Sunday Riders depart in the morning each week from the Dungeness Wildlife Refuge for 25-plus-mile rides.
A uniquely wonderful service, Sequim Wheelers offers free rides on adaptive bicycles for folks with mobility issues who want to enjoy the great outdoors and social interaction while experiencing the thrill of a bike ride with dedicated volunteers.
Tour de Lavender
One of the largest bicycling events in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley is the annual Tour de Lavender, the first Saturday of August. This one-of-a-kind event invites hundreds of riders to enjoy the iconic lavender farms that dot the valley as they travel the ODT and backroads. Riders will enjoy the soothing fragrance of the flowering, purple fields as they meet the inspiring farmers and soak in this authentic Sequim experience. The event even organizes a delivery service to the finish site for the transport of goodies purchased from lavender gift shops, so riders can conveniently take home a fragrant memory of Sequim.
The Metric Century will visit eight lavender farms along the designated course. The Fun Ride is a family-friendly loop for people of all ages and abilities, so riders can choose how far and where they want to go on the route.
Bike Rental, Repairs, and Services
Local bike shops Ben’s Bikes and Sequim Bike Studio offer sales and bike repairs. Ben’s Bikes also offers rentals. Sequim Bike Works refurbishes donated bikes and makes them available for purchase at affordable prices. They are often onsite at the Farmers and Artisans Market on Saturdays from May through October for repairs and tune-ups. Rainshadow Rides & Repairs and bicycle self-service stations on the north side of Carrie Blake Park and at the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Visitor Information Center are also available to help keep cyclists moving easily through Sequim.
A Bicycle-Friendly Community
The City of Sequim is committed to improving conditions for cycling through the city and is proud to be recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. We look forward to your bicycling adventures through the Sequim-Dungeness Valley. You’ll find everything you need to plan your trip at visitsunnysequim.com.
Written by guest blogger, Barbara Hanna, City of Sequim
Click HERE to view more events on the Olympic Peninsula.
