For over 15 years Roche Harbor Resort has highlighted and improved its trails for public use on over 800 acres of land of historical and aesthetic significance to San Juan Island. Roche Harbor Resort, a private business, has designed and paid for improvements to the trails for the use by its customers, for the many visitors enjoying the historic lime kilns and adjoining village attractions and for local residents in the village area as well as the entire island. Hundreds of people use the trail system every month. The busiest sections in or near the Village are paved. Most sections provide at least a six-foot wide groomed footpath. Trail loops parallel to the major boundaries are the widest; those loops through woods tend to be narrower. Volunteers with the local Trails Committee of the San Juan Island Park and Recreation District as well as some paid staff of the Resort maintain the trail with hundreds of volunteer hours of labor per year. All trails are accurately signed with maps available in several locations and on-line at http://sanjuanislandtrails.org/
The Roche Harbor Trails connect to numerous destinations of significance including the San Juan Island National Historic Park at English Camp, the Roche Harbor Mausoleum, the San Juan Island Sculpture Park and Nature Preserve, the historic and beautiful lime quarries, the restored lime kilns at the heart of the Village, the Roche Harbor Marina and docks with scores of boats and the adjoining 129 year old hotel, Hotel DeHaro, and the formal gardens highlighting the Village center. Many walkers consider the location especially attractive with such a variety of destinations, all available without using an auto.
But it is the natural beauty and wildlife (deer, raccoon, fox, innumerable bird species such as eagles, ravens, herons, hummingbirds, ducks, loons, cormorants, seagulls, etc.,) that make the trails truly alluring. The views are varied and big across bays toward Vancouver Island in Canada, others stretch across meadows and over pastures with grazing sheep. Trails loop through Northwest forests of Douglas fir, madrona, hemlock, willow, and alder with trunks embedded in lush undergrowth of fern, berry vines, Oregon grape, salal and deep moss. One loop is on bare rock around the quarry amidst sculpted trees growing in the cracks of the limestone. ADA access is provided throughout the village area and even jogging moms with running strollers can use some of the trail sections reaching out from the Village hub.
Since the village property was one of the first industrial sites on San Juan Island with adjoining forests logged for kiln fuel, evolution of the trails started well over a hundred years ago when a hotel and gardens were built to entertain guests of the owner including many dignitaries of the late 19th Century (including President T. Roosevelt.) Starting in the 1950's the business focus switched from lime production to tourism so the old logging roads provided natural pathways. Since then the Resort has steadily developed the trails with a great deal of emphasis on connecting local attractions while maintaining the natural character and beauty on the varied topography and vegetation of the property. The owners have steadfastly demonstrated that public access to the trail for all persons is a core value especially in the last 15 years with their significant investment in upgrading the trails to satisfy modern trail standards. All trails are in compliance with all land use and environmental laws, and the owners have agreed to keep the trails open to the public for at least another 10 years.
Roche Harbor Trails are now an integral part of Roche Harbor Village and San Juan Island, hence the special status of Roche Harbor Resort as a long-term and valued partner to the Trails Committee of the San Juan Island Park and Recreation District and the scores of volunteers who help maintain and improve these trails.
