The largest island among the cluster of beautiful Northwest jewels that form the famed San Juan Islands, Orcas Island is a must-see vacation and camping spot that demands a full weekends attention. Providing a wealth of activities to choose from, such as camping, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, sea kayaking, whale watching, swimming, biking and more, Orcas Island makes for an ideal place to get away. Traveling there is equally as picturesque as the island itself. Take the ferry that departs out of Seattle and find out first hand why they call it the Emerald City.



Once you arrive, you will have a variety of choices to choose from when it comes to where you will be staying. Though the island offers a host of scenic hotels and inns, this author highly recommends the visceral experience of camping on one of the islands public camping grounds with a few close friends. If it is not raining, fill your nights by sitting next to a campfire and roasting some hot dogs and marshmallows. Then, fill your daytime schedule with a trip on a whale watching boat, riding the roads and trails on some rented bikes and, finally, taking in an evening dinner at a small local restaurant before returning to your campsite. If you are new to camping and need tips, tricks and specific information on how to prepare, I suggest visiting TentsAndMoreOnline. Here, you will find all the help you need to ensure your camping trip is a successful one, plus the gear to make it happen.

For those of you who are not into island hopping, an excursion deep into Washingtons highly-coveted and preserved Olympic National Rainforest might just be the way to help you see Washington at its finest. Maintained at a distribution of 95% wilderness, the parks and trails showcased in this area of the country truly give you a taste of what it must have been like before the New World expanded to draw ink on every inch of the map. There are many public camps offering places to hunker down for a few days, but if camping is not necessarily the way you want to sleep at night, the nearby town of Port Angeles is a welcome refuge from the great outdoors.

If you are a hiking and camping enthusiast, or an admirer of untamed nature in general, make sure to visit the Olympic National Rainforest at least once in your lifetime. Though not recommended for the casual camper, it is still a completely accessible location for campers armed with pertinent camping knowledge. Next time you are in Washington State, make time for the sights that make the Pacific Northwest a striking home for so many, and a dream vacation spot for even more.