Nettles Farm

*I just cannot imagine a better place, on Lummi or most anywhere
*Everything you have read is spot on, the fresh farm food, amazing host who respects your space but is there when you need him, this is the real deal, no way a room at Willows could cast a shadow on Nettles Farm
*Spent the weekend with 3 couples in the Farmhouse and explored Lummi, had dinner at Willows, just a mind blowing weekend adventure 2 hours from Seattle
*If you don’t like farm fresh eggs, amazing bacon, perfectly roasted coffee, fresh yogurt and home made granola then you def. should not come here.

Wow what a little piece of heaven on Earth… We had the pleasure of spending 3 nights here a few week ago. It was so beautiful and quiet. Riley the owner is fantastic, he even brought in his grand-​daughter to play with our girls. The food was amazing… The fresh roasted coffee, homemade butter, fresh eggs from the chickens on the farm and the bacon, wow the bacon… We look forward to our next visit.

Owner/​proprietor Riley Starks has made this place into a delightful respite. A B&B (but make your own breakfast), he’s attended to all the small details — from the local products in the refrigerator (local bacon, yogurt, cream, eggs from the farm) and pantry (home-​canned pears, jams) to the cozy bed and soft robes provided for your stay. There’s a good book and magazine selection. He roasts his own coffee, which was good enough to buy and bring home a batch (and my partner is as picky about his coffee as I am about local food). Our first morning, I looked out the bathroom window to see a deer wandering by. Roosters woke us up but no complaints; Riley raises chickens so it wasn’t unexpected. I didn’t want to leave. I could easily spend more time here. And while it was lovely to spend time on our own away from people and busyness, Riley is a great host and knowledgeable conversationalist. Our Saturday night dinner was at Willows Inn (an experience like nothing else), but I would be very happy to hole up in this quaint spot and disappear for a long weekend. That’s next.

I knew I wanted to take my husband to Willows Inn for his 40^th but rooms there are over $ 360 a night so I decided to try to find alternate accommodations on the island, which I soon learned is REALLY small. I was lucky enough to find Nettles Farm, owned by Riley Starks (former owner of Willows Inn and the fellow who hired Chef Blaine Wetzel). He’s an organic farmer and fisherman who sold Willows Inn to 10 other folks and now just runs Nettles Farm which supplies some of the veggies to Willows Inn. (Do some research and you’ll find all the articles that chronicle the very interesting ups and downs of the businesses).
Nettles Farm is a B&B but you make your own breakfast with the goodies he stocks in the fridge for you. We got jars of ginger pears, peaches, farm fresh eggs, coffee he roasted himself, local yogurt, local bacon, and bread. It was such a treat.
A couple tips — the only grocery store on this island had a bunch of frozen goods and some sad looking fruit and that’s it. Bring enough of your own groceries (and booze) for the weekend.
Also, the farmhouse suite has a huge pizza oven so bring ingredients if you want to make a pizza, or do what we did. Get pizza for dinner Friday night at the Beach Store Café (run by the Willows Inn group) and heat up the leftovers in the oven for lunch the next day after a lovely 3.5 mile roundtrip hike up Bakers Preserve!
Riley is super friendly and helpful and invites you to tour his farm as long as you keep the gates shut so no animals escape. He has a couple friendly goats that will eat grass out of your hand, many chickens, and deer that come right up to the farmhouse for a visit. We also spotted 4 eagles and an owl.
Riley has a great book and (current) magazine collection if you’re a foodie, cook, or gardener, and collection of art house films if you want to watch them on the little TV. There are 4 chairs on the deck out back for sitting, reading, and enjoying the complete absence of city noise. It’s so quiet there.
The sheets and towels are luxurious (these things matter), the bed comfy, the room gets quite bright in the morning (bring your sleep mask if you want to sleep in), and the tub is deep for soaking. He even has a couple bathrobes for you. Very highly recommend staying at Nettles Farm, especially if you’re dining at Willows Inn. Oh he’ll even pick you up if you boat in (apparently our neighbor at the farm did that – cool!)

My fiancé surprised me for my 30^th birthday with a stay at Nettles Farm and dinner at The Willows. I was so in love with the wood oven and remote setting of Nettles Farm I told him we could just cancel our reservation and just stay in and bake a fresh pizza together. I am so glad he didn’t listen! Going to The Willows is a complete experience from the moment you sit down at your table. This was by far the best meal of my life. My only bit of advice is to be open to whatever comes to the table. They know what they’re doing, so leave your picky eaters at home. A big thank you to Reilly for making my 30^th one to remember!

This place was awesome! 5 minutes from the Willows Inn, quiet, huge and clean, cozy. I will definitely stay here again. Riley was also incredibly friendly and helpful. You won’t regret staying here. Homemade breakfast sausage and eggs from the farm, plus amazing yogurt and fresh fruit were stocked in our fridge. We took a little tour of the farma and learned a ton about chickens. Highly recommend!

We stayed at the Nettles Farm House when we came to Lummi island for a wedding and we had a great time! The Farm House is amazingly comfy and tastefully decorated with a fully equipped kitchen (including stone oven). Riley (the owner) is super nice and helpful. He put fresh produce in our fridge so we could prepare breakfast at our leisure. We’ll be back!

This place is the perfect way to get away for the weekend and disconnect from the world. My husband and I stayed in the Farmhouse Suite for one night this past weekend and had a wonderful stay.
The suite was huge! With a full chef’s kitchen complete with a wood stone oven, living room, large bathroom, and separate bedroom. Spacious for two and plenty for four.
We loved spending a lazy morning in the suite enjoying freshly roasted coffee and cooking breakfast with produce and eggs straight from the farm. The best and most memorable part was taking a tour of the farm and meeting the chickens and goats.
Can’t wait to visit again and try a hand at cooking with the wood stone oven!

This farm has it all… veggies, honey, chickens, and herbs. Lot’s of TLC going on with Lummi Island grown produce and eggs for the Willows Inn restaurant and Blaine Wetzel. My wife and I strolled up to the farm (15 min walk or 3 min drive from the inn) during our stay before dinner this past weekend at willows inn to check out all the goodies. We wanted to see where some of our dinner would be coming from. We hung out with chickens, saw the bee hives, and did our own little self guided tour of the farm. It is open for everyone to check out and we highly recommend it. Just remember to close the gates so the chickens don’t get out.