Turtleback Mountain

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Credit: Kurt Thorson/San Juan Preservation Trust

Turtleback Mountain is perhaps the San Juan Islands' most distinctive geographic feature. Visible from throughout the archipelago, the mountain served as a landmark for the Salish people of the Northern Straits as they traveled across their villages and fishing grounds. The island was put on the market in 2005 and could have been developed for 78 private home sites, but the owners agreed to give the community time to purchase the iconic landscape. The San Juan Preservation Trust, a local land trust, and the San Juan County Land Bank, a publicly funded land conservation group, asked TPL to help raise the $18.5 million needed to buy the mountain and then to complete the transaction. By 2007, the property was opened to the public as the Turtleback Mountain Preserve.

Visit

Directions: From the Ferry Terminal, turn left and take Orcas Road north towards Eastsound for 3.4 miles. Turn left on Nordstrom Lame and travel west 0.6 miles to the intersection with Crow Valley Road. Turn right on Crow Valley and travel north 1.7 miles. The entrance is an unmarked gravel road on the left side opposite a yellow house, just before the Crow Valley Schoolhouse.

"Turtleback Mountain offers incredible views, challenging hikes," Seattle Times, July 5, 2007