Moran State Park

Orcas Island has a traffic jam whenever the ferry from Anacortes unloads. For a few brief minutes, cars race off the boat and toward Eastsound, the island’s two-street capital, only to race back to the ferry dock when it’s time to head back to the mainland. For the hours in between, Orcas is a pretty quiet place – and at Moran State Park it’s even quieter. The state park occupies most of the east side of the island and features five lakes, more than 30 miles of hiking trails, and the highest point in the San Juan Islands – high enough to get snow in winter. The 5,500-acre park also has the island’s nicest campground – actually, it’s one of the nicest campgrounds in the island chain.