Mountain Lake Campground — Moran State Park

Let's face it, the only reason to camp here is because it is the only campground on the island and the hotels are for the rich and famous.

Now that's fine unless you get that one rotten apple that drops into town at midnight and circles the campground 16 times looking for a spot because there aren't any and he has no reservation. So he pulls into a little pullout and slams his car door 30 times in order to throw down a bag.

No Campground Host to be found. No other campers want to mess with the guy and I understand.

Next night after no sleep.

Same guy . Pulls in at 10 which is ok. Builds a huge smokey fire and finally goes to bed. But at 3 in the morning he starts his loud car to warm up. For 20 minutes!

4:30 am same thing.

Another sleepless night and I am pissed.

No host to shut him down. Other campers say nothing.

They should call it moron park instead. Never again. Found another fabulous campground and I ain't saying where.

While Orcas Island is beautiful and there is a lot to explore and do, we were disappointed in our campsite at Mountain Lake. We reserved our spot 6 months ahead of time ( It took us weeks of early mornings in October to get a spot) because we thought Mountain Lake was more remote. Well remote doesn’t mean private. While there are only 12 spots, everybody is on top of each other and you can hear and see everything everybody is doing. It had moments of chill vibes but then the boy scouts came. 25 loud teenagers and adults really ruined the vibe. So what I’m trying say, is that this isn’t the spot for a serene get away.

This is a large campground on Orcas Island. It sits on Lake Moran which is a fun lake to kayak and cliff jump. If you follow the road up to Mt. Constitution, there is a lookout tower that resembles a castle. From here you get one of the most spectacular views of the San Juan Islands.