Orcas Island is a charming island that is part of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. It has fairly easy ferry access from Anacortes (just make sure to book in advance!) and is easy to get around with a car.
We went to Orcas Island in 2024 for 4th of July and it was amazing! We stayed in a vacation rental in Eastsound and spent several days exploring the island and celebrating the holiday.
Turtleback Mountain Preserve
We took an early ferry to the island and started our trip with a hike around Turtleback Mountain Reserve. We hiked Ship Peak Loop (about 3 miles). It’s a more moderate hike, but our kids did great and the views were amazing!
Eastsound
This was such a picturesque town! I loved how walkable it was. Spending Independence Day here was a dream as we watched the fireworks go off over the ocean. There was also the cutest parade the next day! We really enjoyed all the holiday events and checking out the shops around the town. During low tide, we also explored a little tiny island off the coast and saw some great tide pools. It was the perfect home base for our trip.
Obstruction Pass and Moran State Park
These state parks are both near each other and easy to visit in a day. We started at Obstruction Pass and headed down to the coast during low tide to see some tide pools. While still a good collection of sea creatures, our favorite place to tide pool will always be Ruby Beach and Beach 4 in the Olympic National Park.
Moran State Park had a beautiful lake that we swam in and boat rentals. It was a great spot to take a break and cool down. We also made our way to Orcas Island’s highest point, Mt. Constitution, and had fun exploring the old stone tower.
This was a wonderful trip for our family. We really loved our time on Orcas Island and would love to go back again someday!
Daley Family Travels 