Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ies, which are the only estate-grown grapes - other varieties come from the warmer
climes of the Yakima Valley. Make sure to at least glance at the camel across the road.
Orcas Island
MORAN STATE PARK
PARK
( 6:30am-dusk Apr-Sep, from 8am Oct-Mar)
This 7-sq-mile park, which has enough at-
tractions to consume the best part of a day, is dominated by 2409ft
Mt Constitution
, the
archipelago's highest point and a mountain with the grandeur of a peak twice its size.
To say that the view from the summit is jaw-dropping would be an understatement. On
a clear day you can see Mt Rainier, Mt Baker, Vancouver's north shore and a patchwork
of tree-carpeted islands floating like emerald jewels on a blue crystalline ocean. To see
above the lofty firs a 53ft
observation tower
was erected in 1936 by the Civilian Con-
servation Corp.
For drivers, the mountain has a paved road to the summit, though the view is infin-
itely better if you earn it via a 4.3-mile hike up from Cascade Lake's North End Camp-
ground or a 5-mile cycle that begins just past Cascade Lake. Beginners, beware: the
grade is a persistent 7% (7ft vertical rise for every horizontal 100ft) with frequent hair-
pin turns.
The park's two major bodies of water,
Cascade Lake
and
Mountain Lake
, offer
campgrounds, good trout fishing, rentable paddle boats and rowboats, picnic areas and
swimming beaches. The lakes are also ringed by hiking trails and linked via a pleasant
wooded ramble that passes the spectacular 100ft-high
Cascade Falls
.
Of the more than 30 miles of trails in Moran State Park, about half are open season-
ally for mountain biking and one or two for horses. Get a trail map from the park
headquarters at the southern end of Cascade Lake.
TURTLEBACK MOUNTAIN PRESERVE
NATURE RESERVE
S
Saved from possible development when it was bought for $18.5-million as public
land in 2007, Orcas' second mountain (rising to 1519ft) was in private hands for so
long that most people had forgotten what was there. The answer: fragile wetlands,
Garry oak savannah, spectacular overlooks, wild orchids and acres of solitude. It now
has trails open to hikers (daily) and cyclists/horseback riders (alternate days). There are
two trailheads; one is on Crow Valley Rd, while the other (best) one is Wild Rose Lane
