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Moran State Park

A concrete bridge and flat arch marking the southern entrance to Moran State Park, a 3,325-acre tract donated by the pioneer shipbuilder, Robert Moran.

The round arch, originally constructed in 1928, was later enlarged to allow bigger vehicles to pass under.

This 4,804-acre park is on the east peninsula of Orcas Island. It was donated to the state by the famous ship builder, Robert Moran, who also served as mayor of Seattle for two terms in 1888 and 1889. The park offers both fresh and saltwater recreational facilities. It was named for the donor

Points of Interest Points of Interest icon

Camp Moran

Camp Moran, a large CCC camp, whose members constructed many structures and created most of the trails, campsites, roads, and other improvements in Moran State Park.

Cascade Lake

Cascade Lake, stocked with trout by the State Game Commission. Formerly, there were no fish in this lake, a fact attributed by an Native American legend to the anger of Raven, who destroyed them by hurling a thunderbolt into the lake from the top of Mount Constitution. Near the shore in a grove of Douglas firs are grassy picnic grounds with log shelter houses and outdoor cooking facilities.

Stone Tower

Stone tower at Mount Constitution was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The tower was designed by Northwest architect Ellsworth Storey. The sandstone tower was designed for a site on an outcrop of rock overlooking the straits of Georgia, the San Juan Islands, the Olympic and Cascade Ranges, and the Cost range of British Columbia. It’s scale, design and materials admirably fit the location and its dual purpose as a fire lookout and an observation tower for visitors. A short incline leads steeply up a few hundred feet to the base of a 52-foot granite observation tower set squarely upon the pinkish lava-rock dome of the peak. Built in the style of the twelfth-century watchtowers which guarded Caucasian Mountain passes, the rectangular tower is topped by an open gallery and a log lookout shelter whose windows open upon a breath-taking panorama in every direction. A crew of 28 men employed by the CCC and stationed on Orcas Island completed the National Register-listed tower in 1935 based on designs by noted architect Ellsworth Storey. Far below, the San Juan Islands stretch over the moving blue-green sea like a parade of prehistoric sea monsters. Some lie flat with sandy tails floating out behind, while dark bulky heights suggest the submerged shoulders of a creature feeding on the bottom. In the foreground the island-dotted tide flows through a 30-mile-wide channel between Canadian and American shores. On a clear day the outlines of Victoria and Bellingham and the crags of the mountain peaks beyond in the Cascade and Olympic ranges, stand out in clean-cut detail. Mount Constitution is a primary station in all geodetic surveys of this region, as indicated by a series of brass bench-markers. The International Boundary Line through this region was determined from this point.

Cascade Falls

Cascade Falls, a 51-foot waterfall cascades down a mossy rock wall. Steps cut in the side of a huge fir log lead to the base of the falls at the bottom of the gorge, scented with overhanging fir, spruce, and flowering plants.

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