Camp Orkila is on the northwest shoulder of

Orcas Island Orcas Island () is the largest of the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest, which are in the northwestern corner of San Juan County, Washington. History and naming of the island The name "Orcas" is a shortened form of ''Horcasitas,'' fro ...

in the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, overlooking Presidents Channel, and the Canadian Gulf Islands. It has been in operation since 1906. It is operated by the Greater

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Area's

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. It is open year-round and offers many different programs ranging from conference and retreat hosting to summer camp and teen expedition programs for grades 3 through 12 during the summer, and the Orkila Outdoor Environmental Education Center during the spring and fall.

Property and Facilities

Camp Orkila's main property is situated on the northwest shoulder of Orcas Island, and is approximately 280 acres in size. This property includes many cabins for campers to sleep in, as well as two lodges for eating, two campfire pits, low and high ropes team building courses, a junior-Olympic sized pool, a Marine Salmon Center (often called the MSC), a zip-line, a barn, a garden, and many other program areas allowing for a wide range of activities and specialty camps throughout the summer. Cabins were formerly open-air, however doors were added for the summer of 2017. While cabins make up the majority of the living space on property, there are many staff-specific living spaces, as well as the Dederer Conference Center, located near the entrance to camp which serves as director housing during the summer, and is used for guest housing as well as staff housing during the spring and fall seasons. The YMCA also owns Satellite Island as well as a 10.5 acre property in Moran State Park known as Twin Lakes. Satellite Is used by both traditional campers for one night island trip each week, as well as a location for Orkila's Teen Expedition participants to stay as a part of their expeditions throughout the San Juan islands. Twin lakes fills a very similar role, while remaining on the island, and is accessible by a 2.2 mile hike.

References

External links

Camp Orkila's homepageSeattle YMCA homepageOrkila Outdoor Environmental Education Center
Orkila Orkila Buildings and structures in San Juan County, Washington Education in San Juan County, Washington {{youth-org-stub

Property and Facilities

See also

References

External links