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Orcas Island
Things to do while you're there
Arts and crafts -- Orcas artists reflect the beauty of their surroundings in their paintings, pottery, tiles, sculptures, jewelry and weavings. Two favorite spots to browse are The Orcas Island Artworks, a cooperative in Olga with more than 70 artists and a cafe, and Crow Valley Pottery, a collection of Northwest art housed in a 1866 log cabin on Horse-shoe Highway, up the road from the ferry landing. Artworks: 360-376-4408; Crow Valley: 360-376-4260.
The Music Room -- Inside Rosario Resort, the luxurious mansion built by shipping magnate Robert Moran in 1904 using fine marbles and mahoganies and stained-glass windows, is an elegant music room with a 1909 Steinway grand piano and a remarkable 26-rank, 1,972-pipe Aeolian pipe organ. Along with evening recitals and history lectures, visitors can tour several of the restored rooms. 1400 Rosario Road. 800-562-8820.
Orcas Center -- This performing arts space just outside Eastsound attracts such big-city entertainment from off-island as Taj Mahal, Wynton Marsalis, Lionel Hampton and Donovan. Its also a thriving community center and headquarters for local thespians and musicians, with a monthly gallery show. 360-376-2281
Mount Constitution -- No trip to Orcas is complete without a trip up this 2,407-foot mountain, and a climb to the top of the old stone tower lookout at its summit. From the top of Mount Constitution, named after the American frigate, visitors enjoy a 360-degree view that includes the San Juan archipelago and the mountain ranges of the Olympics and Cascades. The steep road is not recommended for trailers or large recreational vehicles.
Orcas Island Historical Museum -- This unusual museum is made up of six homestead cabins built between the 1870s and 1890s. Among its collections are antique farm tools, Indian artifacts and re-creations of turn-of-the-century grocery stores and kitchens (check out the recipe for shoofly pie). 181 N. Beach Road in Eastsound. Call for hours: 360-376-4849 or look it up at www.orcasisland.org.
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