FAQ

Doe Bay Fest 2020 has been cancelled (postponed). Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest updates!

Doe Bay Fest takes place at Doe Bay Resort & Retreat, located at 107 Doe Bay Rd, Olga, WA 98279

Check-in begins as early as Wednesday at 3pm. Everyone must have a wristband in order to be on the property Thursday, Friday, or Saturday!

Music begins on Thursday afternoon with open mic on the Otter Cove Stage.

If you can stay Sunday night, you are invited and it’s included in the cost of your ticket. Some say Sunday is their favorite day of the festival, with sweet and intimate musical acts across the property. Note, it is easier to get home on Monday! Checkout time is 11am on Monday.

The deadline for artist inquiries has past. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest updates and announcements!

Doe Bay Fest is a rain or shine event. Joe says, “Expect sun and hot, but prepare for rain and cold.”

We have a strict no-pet policy, with exceptions only for service animals as specified by federal and state law. UNLESS YOU HAVE A LEGITIMATE SERVICE ANIMAL, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR PETS AT HOME.

  • Guns
  • Dogs
  • Alcohol – Alcohol is available and reasonably priced. Personal alcohol can’t be consumed in licensed areas.
  • Packaged goods – Please plan on taking home the packages that you open and use. Orcas is an island that cannot handle waste.

There are restrooms and portable ‘restrooms’ throughout the property. We encourage you to use the portables when you have a choice. You will notice this year that we are locking the flushing toilets for certain hours each day to control water usage and protect our infrastructure. We apologize for any inconvenience and THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING. Please, whenever possible, use the porta-potties which are plentiful but not too full thanks to multiple servicings every day. Our permanent system gets very taxed by Doe Bay Fest so skip the flush toilet and go to the porta-potty.

There are a limited number of public showers on the property. We recommend you shower before arriving, and/or plan to shower at our outdoor spa before and after a soak in our outdoor salt water soaking tubs.

The water flowing from Doe Bay’s faucets is potable, and we have marked spigots where you can fill up water bottles. You can find two dedicated water stations on-site, one near the Yoga Studio and one in the Garden Stage area. Please help us limit single use water bottles and fill up your re-usable ones. Re-usable water bottles will be available for sale at the Doe Bay General Store if you forget yours.

Thursday through Sunday, local Island vendors serve food near the Otter Cove Stage and at Doe Bay’s Garden Stage. Caffe Vita’s coffee stand brews incredible coffee drinks in the Lower area of the property throughout the event.

The Doe Bay Café is a gourmet farm to table restaurant operating year round at the Doe Bay Resort & Retreat. During Doe Bay Fest, we work extra hard to feed festival goers while still producing the freshest most delicious food, harvested from our Doe Bay Organic Gardens and from our local waters. The Doe Bay Café will be open for beer, wine, craft cocktails & great food on Open Mic Thursday of festival week, just like every Thursday year round. We’ll be open through lunch on Monday, and then close Monday evening through Wednesday to let our staff clean up, recover, and prepare to re-open post-Fest.

Yes. You will find almost anything you need, from a great toy selection to locally made lotions and potions along with tasty organic snacks and groceries & the best locally roasted organic coffee we have ever tasted.

Doe Bay has a liquor license issued by Washington State. As a licensee, we comply strictly with the applicable laws. No liquor may be consumed on the Doe Bay property, other than in your cabin, tent, our Café, or a fenced beer & wine garden, and alcohol will not be allowed to be taken in or out through the checkpoints. The Café serves beer, wine and select cocktails. The Doe Bay General Store sells beer and wine as well as food and non-alcoholic drinks.

There is an ATM cash machine located at the entrance to the Doe Bay Spa.

Friday and Saturday evenings, EMTs are stationed on property with an ambulance for first aid and emergency care. Call 911 as appropriate. Be aware that cell phones do not always work on the property. There is a courtesy phone located on the front porch of the main building for local calls and 911.

Yes. Charge your phone or tablet with SOLAR POWER at the solar phone charging station from Solar Nexus International. This is a FREE service.

Yes! In fact, last year 20% of our attendees were 12 and under.

Camp Doe Bay provides drop-in childcare for kids ages 4 and up. Donations are accepted to offset cost of materials and snacks. Camp Doe Bay is staffed by a group of volunteers that are creative, education professionals and have experience running large event childcare. Kids under 4 are welcome to participate in activities, but must have a parent or other adult with them at all times. Capacity is limited! Information regarding days and times for availability will be provided at a later date.

Parking

We have very limited parking available. All parking is assigned and all cars parked on-site or off-site MUST have a Doe Bay parking permit. Unauthorized or improperly parked cars will be towed. You are encouraged to come in groups and to carpool. Bikes, motorcycles, Water Taxis, and feet are the preferred transportation modes. Festival camping guests can purchase a parking pass for the weekend. Guests with a cabin, yurt, or dome reservations will be allowed one free parking pass per accommodation, either on-site or at our nearby parking field. Any additional passes (second cars) must be purchased from the available parking inventory. Do not leave valuables in cars. DO NOT park on the road, you risk being towed. THE COUNTY INSISTS THAT VEHICLES DO NOT PARK ON THE ROAD FOR DOE BAY FEST. If you come even close to blocking a driveway, you WILL be towed.

On-site parking is the most expensive option. Casper’s Lot is within a short walking distance to and from the festival. Additional parking is available approximately 1 mile from the festival at no cost. We do provide a free shuttle service throughout the duration of the festival to all off-site parking areas. All ticket holders will be notified by email if/when parking passes become available for purchase.

Tickets

The general admission ticket price is $225. Teen tickets are priced at $70, and kids 12 and under are free. Festival camping is not included with the cost of the ticket and is priced at $125 plus tax.

Ticket are not on sale at this time. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest updates and announcements!

Yes. You must provide proof of residency in the San Juan Islands to gain access to our Island Resident ticket price. Call 360-376-2291 option 1 for more information.

Yes! Plan a minimum 2-night trip up to Doe Bay and purchase your tickets in person. Available while supplies last.  The sooner you make it out, the more your save:

  • Overnight guest October-December, save $75 off of each ticket purchase
  • Overnight guest January-March, save $50 off each ticket purchase
  • Overnight guest April-June, save $25 off each ticket purchase

Yes. Pay 25% on the first installment with the remaining 75% due no later than June 30. You will receive an email after your initial purchase with information on how to make your final payment. You will be fully responsible for making your final payment before June 30, otherwise we will retain the amount of your first installment.

We are not offering day passes at this time.

Yes. Children 12 and under are admitted for free with a paying parent or guardian.

General admission tickets and festival camping tent tags are fully refundable through July 15. Early bird and discounted tickets are non-refundable. Absolutely no refunds after the refund deadline.

Yes! This special opportunity allows for you to trade the cost of the ticket and camping (or just a ticket if you don’t need camping) in exchange for roughly 6-12 hours of festival work (work hours vary depending on which option you choose). If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact Heather at doebayfestvolunteers@gmail.com.

Festival Camping, Car Camping, and Premium Accommodations

Doe Bay Fest is primarily a camping festival with the vast majority of our guests and guest Artists pitching tents across the expanse of the picturesque 35-acre ocean-front property. Festival camping is $125 PER TENT plus tax and accommodates from 1 to 4 people in a single tent. Tents must be small-medium in size (not bigger than 10’x10’ footprint).

Want to expand your footprint? Looking to create a lounge space or place a canopy next to your tent? Be sure to buy additional tent tag(s) to spread out beyond 10’x10’ and make your camp exactly what you want it to be!

No. If you buy a ticket you must also purchase a tent tag for festival camping, unless a friend has arranged a place for you in their tent, or you can prove alternate accommodations on Orcas.

Each tent (regardless of size) requires a tent tag.

Yes! All campsites are assigned, but you can request to camp in a specific location or near a friend’s tent. If you did not already indicate during the time of purchase, email your request to admin@doebay.com and we’ll do our best to honor your request!

We get a lot of requests for upgrades to cabins, yurts, domes, or premium drive-in or walk-in campsites. The first thing we recommend is to purchase your tickets and tent tags which puts you on the list to receive notification if/when any upgrades are released. Typically, it’s not until June or July when we are able to make such an announcement. We first have to lock in our artists, sponsors, vendors, etc. before we can sell to the general public and a lot of those details are not set until close to the final hour. We usually send an email before the announcement so you can be on alert. Some years it’s been a bit competitive, so we try to give everyone a fair shot.

If you are one of the lucky few to secure an upgrade from festival camping, the cost of your original ticket and tent tag purchase will be refunded. Because each package includes up to 5 nights of stay (arrive as early as Wednesday; stay as long as Monday), as well as festival tickets for the number of adults specified, the packages may seem pricey. Enjoying Doe Bay Fest in general festival camping is cheap and easy, but enjoying Doe Bay Fest from one of our premium spaces is an extra exceptional experience – treat yourself!

On-site car camping is limited ONLY to the Drive-In Campsites that are a part of Doe Bay Resort’s regular campsite inventory and are considered premium campsite upgrades.  There will be additional car camping options located off-site that will become available for purchase at a later date. The cost to upgrade from a tent tag to car camping will run between $30 to $70 plus tax. An advantage to this upgrade is that it includes a parking space with the option to sleep in your vehicle plus additional room to pitch a tent next to your vehicle.

If you are interested in purchasing an off-site car camping site, we recommend first purchasing your tickets and festival camping tent tag. You will then be notified by email of any car camping opportunities when they become available for purchase.

Transportation

Water taxi – We highly recommend the water taxi option. With a direct route between Anacortes and Doe Bay Resort, the water taxi is your best value option for fast, easy travel. The privately chartered boat takes you directly to Doe Bay’s beach in just 45 minutes! Departures from Skyline Marina in Anacortes are scheduled to run from Wednesday thru Friday, offering a variety of sailing times to best meet your needs. All seats are priced at $36 per person, regardless of age (kids 2 and under can ride free on a parent’s lap). Sunday and Monday, direct water taxi departures from Doe Bay Resort returning to Skyline Marina in Anacortes, will be running at various times throughout the day.

Water taxis can also accommodate a limited number of bicycles for an additional fee.

Shuttle Van – Avoid the vehicle ferry traffic and jump on the most economical transportation option Doe Bay has to offer! Pay to park your vehicle in Anacortes, and purchase a round trip walk-on ferry pass for no more than $15 per person. We are offering various pick-up times at the Orcas ferry landing on Thursday and Friday and on Sunday and Monday. A 1-way shuttle ride from the ferry landing to Doe Bay (or return to ferry from Doe Bay) costs just $10 plus tax each way. Sorry, no bicycles.

Yes. Fly Kenmore Air or San Juan Airlines and take a taxi to the Fest. Priciest but most glamorous way to travel, especially if you are not a regular on seaplanes. There are a few Orcas Island taxi services to help transport you to Doe Bay: (360) 376-TAXI or (360) 298-1639

Yes, but you must book a ferry reservation for your vehicle to ride the ferry! Reservations for the summer ferry schedule are released in tiers, with the first wave being released in April. For more information on the Washington State Ferry System, visit their website: https://secureapps.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Reservations/Vehicle/default.aspx