Things to Do in Eastsound, Washington

Moran covers more than 5,000 acres, with five lakes, waterfalls and more than 30 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. The top of Mount Constitution, at about 2,400 feet, is the highest point in the San Juans. Civilian Conservation Corps crews started its stone observation tower in 1935, and the summit view takes in the islands and the North Cascades.

★ Good to know You need a Discover Pass to park, and the road up the mountain isn’t open to large trailers or motor homes above Mountain Lake.

These are the two big lakes inside Moran State Park. Cascade Lake has the swim area, a snack stand called the Sugar Shack and boat rentals from Orcas Adventures, which also rents boats and kayaks at Mountain Lake. Gas motors aren’t allowed on Mountain Lake, so it stays quiet.

★ Good to know The Sugar Shack and rentals open daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day and on weekends the rest of the year.

This 1,718-acre preserve is one of the largest undeveloped places in San Juan County, saved in 2006 with help from more than 2,000 donors. It has more than 8 miles of trails through forest, wetlands and open meadows with views over the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands. It’s free and open dawn to dusk.

★ Good to know The south trailhead is hikers only; bikes are allowed at the north trailhead on even-numbered days and horses on odd days.

The museum sits between the Village Green and the Our House complex at 181 North Beach Road. It’s built from six pioneer cabins plus a main gallery, and exhibits include an ancient bison skull found on the island. The same group runs the one-room Crow Valley School, built in 1888.

★ Good to know Crow Valley School opens for walk-in tours in summer, from Memorial Day weekend into late August.

The Village Green is Eastsound’s lawn and outdoor stage, and it hosts the Saturday farmers market. Everything sold is grown or made on Orcas Island, from produce to pottery. Local musicians often play at midday.

★ Good to know The outdoor market runs Saturdays from early May through September, then moves indoors to the school cafeteria until the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Just east of the village, this 131-acre preserve protects about 2,100 feet of shoreline on Ship Bay. More than 2,000 feet of sand and gravel beach are open to walk, and a 0.7-mile forest trail links two of the parking areas. Watch for osprey, river otters and shorebirds.

★ Good to know Part of the tideland is an oyster farm, so stay off the leased beds and the private beaches next door.

Joe and Marclay Sherman opened this studio in 1945, and it bills itself as the oldest pottery in the Pacific Northwest. The showroom is an old-growth fir trapper’s cabin the Shermans got in trade for eight pieces of pottery. Paths wind through gardens and fountains in the woods west of the village.

★ Good to know It’s at the end of a long wooded driveway off Old Pottery Road, so follow the footpath sign from the parking lot.

Deer Harbor Charters has run small-group, naturalist-led whale and wildlife tours from Deer Harbor since 1988. Outer Island Excursions also runs whale watching and kayak trips around the island. Deer Harbor Marina, on the island’s west side, rents kayaks, bikes and boats.

★ Good to know Summer is the best time for orca sightings, so book ahead for July and August.