Orcas Island in August
 

We are going to Orcas Island for a week in August ad would like suggestions for "special" things to do. Aside from whale watching, visiting Rosario Resort, Mt Constitution and Eastsound, what is there to do that is unusual--no water sports--and/or interesting? Should we plan a day on San Juan Island--how do you get around without a car? We'll have one on Orcas but probably don't want to ferry it to San Juan Island. Anything else in the area we should't miss in the way of day trips?

Bernice - we stayed at Rosario in July of 1995 and in addition to the things you mentioned, one afternoon we took a ride in a light amphibious plane that flew over all the islands. We booked it right at the dock at Rosario. It was a highlight of the trip. Don't miss the Sunday brunch at Rosario either.

Bernice - we stayed at Rosario in July of 1995 and in addition to the things you mentioned, one afternoon we took a ride in a light amphibious plane that flew over all the islands. We booked it right at the dock at Rosario. It was a highlight of the trip. Don't miss the Sunday brunch at Rosario either.

we prefer san juan island actually,altho there is
a great B&B on Orcas-turtle back inn. Take the
washington state ferry to SJ island-drive your car on & then go upstairs to the loung to enjoy the ride.Without a car you can't explore SJ which is
very rural & great for birdwatching,biking,kayaking
walking. Near Friday Harbor is Mariella inn which
has an outstanding chef. At the far end of the island is Roche Harbor hotel a historic inn.
It rains a lot in that part of the world so be
prepared.

We went to Orcas Is Labor Day 2 yrs ago. Great little island - Mt Constitution is nice to hike, bike etc...whole island a great biking area if thats your thing. We stayed at Rosario overlooking Bay - the island is infested with deer - the resort has literally hundreds of wild deer that come to feed at dusk and dawn. Also stayed on SJ Island a nite - liked Orcas much better but it does have a Natl park where you can see the Orcas right at the shoreline although we stayed and looked for 4 hrs and didn't see any that day. For Orca watching the best trip we found was the boats out of The Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC - they have scouter boats that go out at dawn and call back to the shop to tell the boats exactly where the pods are - truly fancinating - we saw 2 pods of a total of 30-40 whales on 2 different trips. A trip of a lifetime !! You'll have a blast!