A hike-in-only cove on the island's southeast shore. The 1.8-mile round-trip trail drops through mixed forest to a small pocket beach on Obstruction Pass — a narrow channel between Orcas and Obstruction Island, with views across to San Juan Channel.
The main recreational lake in Moran State Park — a calm 130-acre lake ringed by forested ridgelines. The 3-mile perimeter trail passes the boathouse dock, a swimming beach, and open water views framed by the slopes of Mount Constitution.
At 2,409 feet, the highest point in the San Juan Islands. The CCC-built sandstone observation tower rises 52 feet above the summit, giving an unobstructed 360° view across the archipelago, the Cascades, the Olympics, and Vancouver Island.
A 3.9-mile loop around the largest of Moran State Park's five lakes. The trail stays at lake level through old-growth Douglas fir and cedar, alternating between dense forest and open shoreline with views up to the ridgeline.
The Ship Peak Trail climbs 600 feet in 1.5 miles through open meadows and Pacific madrone stands to the west-facing ridge at 1,519 feet. Summit views span the Salish Sea, San Juan Island, and Vancouver Island — among the widest west-facing panoramas in the archipelago.
The San Juan Islands sit at the heart of the Salish Sea migration corridor. Bigg's orca pods follow harbor seal colonies through the islands year-round; humpbacks and minkes are common in summer. Tours depart from Eastsound on fast rigid-hull inflatable boats with a naturalist on board.
The Arts and Crafts mansion built by Robert Moran, former Seattle mayor and shipbuilder. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Music Room contains a fully restored Steinway grand and a 1,972-pipe Aeolian organ — still played for guests.
Two high-elevation lakes at 1,150 feet, reached via the Mountain Lake and Twin Lakes Trail — 3.8 miles round trip from Mountain Lake Landing. The trail climbs through old-growth forest to a forested ridge where the two lakes sit in a glacially carved basin, with views back toward Mount Constitution.
A short 0.5-mile trail along Cascade Creek in Moran State Park leads to a series of stepped waterfalls dropping through a moss-covered basalt gorge. Easy trail with immediate payoff.
A San Juan Preservation Trust property east of Eastsound. A 1.5-mile trail through Pacific madrone and Douglas fir forest ends at a protected crescent-shaped gravel beach on East Sound, with open water views toward the Cascades.
Small-group fast-boat whale watching from Orcas Island with guaranteed whale sighting. Naturalist commentary on Bigg's orca, humpback, Dall's porpoise, and seabirds.
Guided speedboat whale-watching from Orcas Island in the Salish Sea. Naturalist-led with 95% whale sighting rate; covers orca, humpback, and local seabirds.
No food delivery apps operate on Orcas Island. Dining is in-person only; the resort restaurant and most Eastsound spots close early, so plan meals before heading out for the day.
Getting Around
No rideshare apps operate on Orcas Island. Visitors travel by rental car — book before arrival — the island's taxi service · Orcas Island Taxi · cash preferred, or the resort shuttle for guests.
Pickleball
Buck Park · Outdoor
4 outdoor courts; organized sessions via local pickleball club; free.
Almost everything on this itinerary connects back to a single person: Robert Moran. The hotel sits inside the estate he built. The mansion on Day 2 is the house he lived in. The park that fills all of Day 1 and most of Day 3 exists because he donated his land to Washington State — 5,252 acres — when he felt his health declining and wanted the island preserved. He arrived in Seattle as a teenager with almost nothing; by the time he retired to Orcas, he had built the warships that launched the American fleet into the Pacific.
The CCC tower at the summit of Mount Constitution was built by young men enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps — New Deal workers, often from cities, doing hard physical labor in places like this as part of the Depression-era relief program. The tower was designed by Ellsworth Storey, a Seattle architect known for Craftsman bungalows. It looks medieval, which was intentional — Storey wanted it to read as a ruin that had always been there. It has not always been there, but it is now the thing everyone photographs when they reach the top.
The island's name has nothing to do with orcas. It was named after the Viceroy of New Spain who sponsored a Spanish expedition to Puget Sound — his full name was Juan Vicente de Güemes Pacheco de Padilla Orcasitas y Aguayo. The whales were already here when the Spanish arrived, and they are still here now, but the island was named for the bureaucrat, not the animal.
