Horse Heaven

As I sit here and look over my pastures to my three horses happily grazing, I’m thinking that this place is “horse heaven”!

The islands have such amazing locations for horses and humans alike! Beautiful vistas, gentle rolling terrain, quiet tree-lined roads and photo opportunities everywhere you look….

When I moved from Portland, OR to Orcas Island in 1980, I was totally blown away by the incredible beauty of this place!  As a real estate agent, I get a chance to see some lovely properties and have a real weakness for the ones with acreage and set up for animals.

Lopez Island is probably the island that feels the most agricultural with historic farms and lots of sheep. San Juan Island has some beautiful horse properties in the center of the island and is the home of the San Juan County Fair, where the 4-H students from all the islands show their livestock and compete for ribbons.

Orcas Island has a big cattle ranch between the ferry landing and Eastsound, that was built by Charlie Arndt, an American film actor from the 30’s through the 60’s. Most of Orcas is forest land and there are a few small horse farms in the picturesque valleys off the main road that crosses the island. One of my favorite areas is Crow Valley. There’s a beautiful drive you can take after leaving the ferry, that starts by turning left at Pinneo Rd and driving along West Sound past the marina and turn right onto Crow Valley Road. The Kingfish is located on that corner and is a great place for dinner!  This road is the “insiders” back way to Eastsound and is really lovely!

If you’re interested in finding a home that’s set up for horses or other animals, give us a call! We’d love to help you find the perfect property!