Situated near Mount Constitution on Orcas Island, the Environmental Learning Center (ELC) is a limited access facility in Moran’s 5,252-acre park. The facility includes a heated lodge and commercial kitchen, heated cabins, restrooms with showers, private beach, dock for fishing and canoes for exploring. Informal and formal gatherings are also held at the outdoor amphitheater with fire circle, the large grassy field, and the volleyball & basketball areas.
Camp Activities
Activities are non-structured but campers are free to use the facilities to play board games, field games, volleyball, basketball hoops, explore, fish, swim and canoe. Sunday night we gather for a skits, jokes, stories and S’Mores around the campfire. Guests can also explore over 30 miles of hiking trails to waterfalls, lakes and mountain tops. Easy popular hikes include a 2 mile hike past 3 small waterfalls and a 2.7 mile hike around Cascade lake.Campers are welcome to bring their favorite games or sports equiptment.
Additional Bike Exploration
If hanging around camp isn’t your style, riders can road bike down to Doe bay, explore Rosario Resort or enjoy lunch in the main villiage of East Sound. Ambitious riders can make the road climb to the top of 2,409-foot Mount Constitution, the highest point on the San Juan Islands. The tower there offers panoramic views of the surrounding islands, the Cascade Mountains and a variety of Canadian and American cities.
Food
Hot and hearty breakfasts and dinners are provided for all guests. For most meals, all you need to do is stand in line, collect your food, gobble it down, bus your plate and go on your way. For one meal, guests will be assigned to either help cook or help clean-up. The meals are easy to prepare, tasty and filling. Dinners include dessert.
Lunches
Lunches are provided by the guests. Some suggestions for lunch include:
Bike-in Day: Bring a sack lunch, plan to stop by the Bite of Orcas for lunch, the grocery store or one of the restaraunts in East Sound.
Camp days: Pack a cooler with your lunch food, buy lunch food from the cafeteria snack bar, or ride to an area restaurant.
Bike-out Day: Use your packed food, stop by the grocery store in East Sound on the way out or buy lunch on the ferry.
Snacks, treats and lunch foods are sold at the cafeteria snack bar at various times of the day. Offerings have typically included such things as granola bars, fruit, candy, drinks, hoggie sandwitches, cup of soup, etc…
Housing
All bunkhouses are heated and include bunkbeds with mattresses. Restrooms may be attached or in separate buildings. You will need to bring your own sleeping bag and pillow.
Families or groups with kids under 7 will be assigned to small cabins which sleep 12-16 and may share with other young families. All efforts are made to pair you with your friends. So if you want to be sure of your cabinmates, invite your friends!
Families or groups with no kids under 7 will be assigned to single sex bunkhouses. This is a great way to meet other campers.
However, if your family or group is a candidate for the Men’s and Women’s bunkhouses and would be willing to fill a bunkhouse with 20-25 family members and friends, you can work with the Ride Coordinator to accomodate your request for a private bunkhouse.
Camping Gear
You will load your camping gear onto a truck at the ferry dock, before you store your car. Your stuff will be shuttled to the camp and unloaded onto racks. Suggestions for basic items to bring include: pillow, sleeping bag, clothes and personal stuff, fun stuff (fishing gear, favorite games & sports items), snacks and lunch food (in a non crushable container), any specialty kid/baby gear (portacrib, portable eating gear, baby backpack, etc…). More details on packing suggestions can be found here.
