ORCAS, Wash. — Orcas Island is the winner of Best Island in 2024's Best Northwest Escapes viewer’s poll. As one of the jewels in the Salish Sea, Orcas Island has always been sought out ...

FORESTS, LAKES, MOUNTAINS, CAVES (AND TROLLS, TOO) For an island in the middle of Puget Sound, Orcas is surprisingly like England, where J.R.R. Tolkien wrote his fantasy epics.

A haven for artists and crafters, Orcas Island is famous for its pottery studios scattered throughout the island. A wealth of galleries showcase distinctive local crafts such as jewelry, ceramics ...

Syd Exton does. The third-generation potter and owner of Orcas Island Pottery first sat at the wheel when she was 5, taught by her mother, Trudy Erwin.

“Doe Bay is Orcas,” said Jeffri Coleman, 54, lifelong Orcas Islander and co-proprietor of Crow Valley Pottery, the granddaddy of island galleries (www.crowvalley.com).

The oldest pottery in the Pacific Northwest, Orcas Island Pottery was founded in 1945. I found ceramics by a dozen potters plus a don't-miss view of the sea right behind the log houses.

The pottery, which began in the 1940s and is in the fourth generation of family ownership and artistry, overlooks West Beach on Orcas Island. Signs along the way direct visitors to its location ...

The pottery, which began in the 1940s and is in the fourth generation of family ownership and artistry, overlooks West Beach on Orcas Island. Signs along the way direct visitors to its location ...