Meetings and Events City Profiles

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Population:
San Juan Islands: About 7,000
Whidbey and Camano Islands: About 70,000
Campbell River Area: About 30,000
Gulf Islands: More than 10,000

Nearest airport: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is three-and-a-half hours away by car and offers air shuttles.

Conventions centers/Large event spaces:
Several venues with meeting and event space are located throughout the region, depending on your destination.

Overview and highlights:

The Northwest coast is dotted with accessible island resorts that still maintain a feeling of remoteness. As a bonus, these islands offer unparalleled natural beauty sure to soothe even the most frazzled nerves.

San Juan Islands
Retreats in Washington's San Juan Islands (Orcas, Lopez and San Juan) are accessible by a memorably scenic ferry ride or daily flights from Seattle and British Columbia.

While many lodging and meeting facilities are filled with tourists during the summer months, business leaders are finding that fall and spring retreats are economical and add to the sense of isolation once the crowds have gone. Plus, the weather is cooperative. The San Juans receive half as much rainfall as the mainland just a few miles away.

>> The Outlook Inn on Orcas Island consists of 40 guest rooms, as well as The Victorian Room, which accommodates up to 80 people.
Orcas Island, Wash. / 888.688.5665

>> The Friday Harbor House on Orcas Island is a 23-room inn on a bluff overlooking the water. The inn holds 1,070 square feet of meeting space that seats up to 100. The dining room overlooking the harbor accommodates 20-person meetings and 50-person receptions. A smaller room accommodates 10-person board meetings.
Orcas Island, Wash. / 866.722.7356

Whidbey and Camano Islands
Whidbey and Camano islands are less than an hour from downtown Seattle. Whidbey and Camano islands offer plenty of bed and breakfast lodgings and small inns.

>> Chinook Center is a conference and retreat facility with overnight accommodations for 30 people and meeting space for groups of up to 150. Part of the Whidbey Institute, the site is among 75 acres of old-growth forest.
Whidbey Island, Wash. / 360.341.3404

>> Another Whidbey Island venue is the historic Fort Casey Inn, a row of cottages built as officers' housing just before World War I, and Fort Casey Conference Center, which accommodates up to 500 people.
Whidbey Island, Wash. / 866.661.6604

Campbell River
In the Campbell River area, a popular stopover for cruises through British Columbia's Inside Passage, you have the advantages of two fishing lodges in one.

>> Painter's Lodge on Vancouver Island and April Point Resort and Spa on Quadra Island, although separate resorts, are sister properties that share an owner. Water shuttles across Discovery Passage run between the resorts approximately every 10 minutes. Painter's Lodge has 94 rooms in various configurations. Meeting facilities range from boardrooms to meeting halls that accommodate up to 150 people. April Point offers 49 guest rooms and eight houses for group stays, plus meeting spaces that accommodate up to 100 people.
Painter's Lodge // Vancouver Island, B.C. / 800.663.7090
April Point Resort & Spa // Quadra Island, B.C. / 800.663.7090

Gulf Islands
Between southern Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia lie the Gulf Islands, a cluster of more than 200 islands southwest of the Strait of Georgia and nicknamed the "Canadian Mediterranean" for their mild weather. The Gulf Islands receive only about 30 inches of rainfall a year.

Daily ferries from Vancouver Island and the mainland take visitors through breathtaking scenery to the five main islands: Salt Spring, Pender, Mayne, Galiano and Saturna.

>> The Cusheon Lake Resort offers 14 modernized cabins and two cedar chalets. The lake offers swimming and boating activities, as well as trout and bass fishing. Teambuilding exercises include sailing lessons, horseback riding, hiking and ocean kayaking.
Salt Spring Island, B.C. / 866.899.0017

>> Poets Cove Resort & Spa on nearby Pender Island, with its lodge, cottages and villas overlooking Bedwell Harbour, draws groups looking for natural splendor and big-city amenities. Guests have access to a personal chef and fireside massage. Groups as large as 120 people can use the Seaglass Ballroom, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean, as well as French doors that open onto a terraced garden.
Pender Island, B.C. / 888.512.7638

For more information:

San Juan Island Visitor's Bureau

Whidbey and Camano Islands Tourism

Campbell River Tourism

Gulf Islands // http://www.gulfislands.ca / http://www.gulfislandsguide.com

This article has been re-edited for the Web. Article originally by Steve Dunkelberger.