(MCT Photo Service)

If life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, right? But if life hands you nettles, and you're on Orcas Island? You make pizza.

On a recent rainy Thursday, during the weekly pizza and open-microphone night at Doe Bay Cafe, an overflow crowd of locals steamed up the wood-framed windows overlooking emerald-green Otter Cove. Manny's ale fueled loud, happy conversations.

Topping the popular pie this night: nettle pesto, a sprinkling of blue cheese, Parmesan, pecans and sliced roasted beets, reflecting the guiding genius and local-food focus of chef Abigael Birrell, who has made this the restaurant everybody's talking about on Orcas this year.

Obviously, the focus on local can get pretty basic.

"We've no shortage of nettles," Heather Watts, the young overseer of Doe Bay Resort's organic garden, told me the next day as we donned gardening gloves and snipped nettles just outside the garden fence. We mashed the nitrogen-rich, stinging stalks, the nemesis of path-straying Northwest hikers, into a water-filled tub to make "nettle tea."

After brewing for a couple weeks, Watts said, the "tea" would make a potent fertilizer for the garden that supplies the cafe's "seed-to-table" strategy.

Elsewhere, nettles are one of nature's nuisances, but on Orcas Island they're an asset, and that speaks volumes about the down-to-earth vibe on this largest "rock" of the San Juan archipelago.

Besides its rich growth of nettles, Orcas is distinguished for the pristine forests and lakes of Moran State Park, trail-laced mountains, and little farms pocketed among hills and dales from which black-faced lambs look up to watch cars pass every time a ferry arrives.

The people also seem a little different from the "big town" of Friday Harbor, the county seat that's a 40-minute ferry ride away on San Juan Island.

"I think we're more eclectic here ... more involved with culture and sustainability," said Morgan Meadows, a stalwart of the Occupy Orcas Island movement - yes, they have one - as she waved a sign from a roadside park in Eastsound, the island's largest village. The group makes a weekly stand from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursdays, in between teaching jobs or doing face-painting at the farmers market.

But old-fashioned capitalism and small-town quaintness is no relic here: At a table just around the corner, two young teens sold lemonade and 50-cent brownies to make a few bucks after school.

It might be notable, too, that humble Doe Bay, home to the healing-arts Polarity Institute in the 1970s, a hippie retreat in the 1980s, and renovated in recent years by new Seattle owners, still draws crowds with its yurts, rustic cabins and clothing-optional soaking tubs (www.doebay.com). Meanwhile, a few miles down the road, once-proud Rosario Resort, a high-society enclave built around the 103-year-old mansion of 19th-century shipbuilder Robert Moran, is struggling back from the auction block after a 2008 financial bust.

"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).

While moneyed newcomers have built fancy bed-and-breakfasts, he says with tongue-in-cheek asperity, "If you want to stay at a French chateau, go to France!"

Another longtime islander bemoaned that visitors "are smitten" when they first come, but if they move to Orcas, too many then find fault with things such as the rural public services without appreciating "every splendid thing, like the ridgelines and the valleys and the inviting glimpses of coves and little beaches that are magical, and the osprey by Cascade Lake, the oystercatchers along Crescent Beach, or the ouzels in the streams at the state park."

Orcas, shaped like a giant horseshoe cleaved almost in two by the waters of East Sound, feels more geographically diverse than other islands in the San Juans. It's the only island with more than one official U.S. Post Office - in fact, it has four: in Eastsound, Orcas village, Deer Harbor and even the tiny hamlet of Olga, where a "For Rent" sign fills the window of the only store. Each village has its own personality.

"Olga even has its own parade, for the Olga Daze (festival, in July)," Coleman said.

"Does it last about three minutes?" a visitor asked with a grin.

"If it goes around twice!" Coleman laughed.

The island's most famous geographic feature is Mount Constitution. The San Juans' highest point, at 2,400 feet, is the crowning glory of 5,000-acre Moran State Park. Visitors can drive (or ambitiously bike or hike) up to a stone lookout tower offering views of snow-clad Mount Baker and soaring eagles, along with eagle-eye views of boats of all sizes threading among islands spread below like blue-green lumps of clay waiting for a sculptor.

These days, another landmark beckons hikers, bikers and equestrians, thanks to local conservationists' 2006 purchase of Turtleback Mountain, which occupies a chunk of the island's western half.

From a distance it looks like a turtle, with a dark green "shell" and the hump of a "head" at one end. The late Weyerhaeuser tycoon and one-time Boy Scouts of America president Norton Clapp owned it for many years as a retreat with only a tiny cabin at the top.

Related: Plan Your Getaway

"It is truly the most iconic property on the islands, because it's the most visible from all the islands from San Juan, Lopez and Shaw, it's this beacon," said Lincoln Bormann, director of the San Juan County Land Bank, as he led me up one of the trails developed by his agency, which manages Turtleback's 1,576 acres as a nature preserve.

Trails meander up through fir and hemlock woods and break out into steep meadows of dry grass dotted with glacially-scraped rocks and gnarled Garry oaks.

"There's Tiptop Mountain and Spieden Island and Yellow Island," Bormann recited fondly as he looked out at views to the northwest. New in the past year: the Lost Oak Trail, built by volunteers and the Washington Conservation Corps, creating almost seven miles of trails on the mountain (details and maps at www.sjclandbank.org/turtle_back.html).

Back on the road just below Turtleback, we pulled into Coffelt Farm, another recently preserved Orcas treasure, a 185-acre Crow Valley farm that was up for sale when the owners sought to retire a few years ago.

The Land Bank purchased it and handed over management to a nonprofit, which gets help from the longtime farmers, Vern Coffelt, who was born on Turtleback, and his wife, Sidney. Under the arrangement, the couple may stay on the farm as long as they choose.

"It's one of the more productive and complete farms on the island," Bormann said.

"We just had a pig that had 11 babies, and we had 120 lambs this year!" said farmworker Ruthie Dougherty, who was at the counter of the farm's little shop, which that day offered everything from organic Purple Majesty potatoes and fresh rhubarb to socks made from the farm's wool. There's also a freezer full of meats, all from Coffelt Farm. (Unfortunately for visitors, the farm stand is open weekdays only.)

Pick up dinner fixings, take one of the farm's occasional workshops, such as Beekeeping Basics (2-4 p.m. June 23, $20), or come for the Aug. 18 Summer Farm Tour (see www.coffeltfarm.org).

Orcas has a sophisticated population of retirees, and the arts are a big part of island life. Galleries are easy to find in Eastsound, and Orcas Island Artworks in Olga (www.orcasartworks.com) is a good reason to drive across the island to see the output of local visual artists and craftspeople (and have lunch at Cafe Olga).

Residents and visitors alike can also enjoy artwork, dance and theater at Orcas Center, a publicly funded cultural center under the new direction of Kara O'Toole, former director at Seattle's Velocity Dance Center.

New at Orcas Center, on the edge of Eastsound, are satellite-beamed, big-screen viewings of New York's Metropolitan Opera and the National Theater of Great Britain, including opera on five Friday nights this summer ($11-$15 for nonmembers).

An August attraction: the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, Aug. 10-25, plus a day of "hamlet concerts" Aug. 9 in Olga, West Sound and Deer Harbor. See www.orcascenter.org.

Or if you prefer no-cost entertainment that's been an Orcas Island staple for years, head to Rosario Resort, where manager Christopher Peacock sets the Moran mansion's foundation shaking with his gleeful renditions of "Phantom of the Opera" themes on the mansion's 1,972-pipe Aeolian organ (free to the public, 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday in summer).

With new owners, Rosario has been replacing guest-room furnishings this spring and renovating the lovely old mansion. The resort recently added to its room offerings by acquiring the neighboring Cascade Harbor Inn. The comeback is definitely still a work in progress, but they're making headway (www.rosarioresort.com).

Visit Orcas in autumn and end your day with a thrill ride: Have a friend drive you to the top of Mount Constitution, then mountain-bike all the way down on trails that are open to bikers Sept. 15 to May 15.

If you accidentally veer into a patch of nettles: Get revenge. Go for pizza.

Related: Top 10 Family-Friendly Destinations

San Juans have beauty in the bank

The name is about as exciting as the FDIC, but the San Juan County Land Bank is an investment in beautiful, little-developed chunks of the San Juan Islands. Visitors are just discovering the agency's recreational trails, scenic beaches and historic sites.

Established by San Juan County voters in 1990, the Land Bank collects a 1 percent excise tax on island real-estate sales. Proceeds go to purchase and preserve lands of environmental, agricultural, aesthetic, cultural, scientific, historic, scenic or recreational value. Development of those parcels is mostly limited to building of trails and posting of interpretive panels.

Turtleback Mountain Preserve is the largest Land Bank property on Orcas Island. Among other Orcas sites worth a walk are Crescent Beach, just east of Eastsound village, or pretty Judd Cove, with a well-preserved limekiln from the island's commercial past.

Signs marking the sites are low-profile, in keeping with the philosophy that the lands are an investment by island landowners and should be primarily for their enjoyment.

That attitude is evolving, however. Though the Land Bank now has 20 preserves open to the public throughout the islands, too many locals are unaware of them, said Lincoln Bormann, the Land Bank's director. The agency now aims to publicize the sites with brochures distributed where visitor pamphlets are available. A website, www.sjclandbank.org, also provides detailed maps and information.

Sizing it up

Orcas Island

Square miles: 56.9

Population: About 4,900 (about two-thirds the population of San Juan Island; about double the population of Lopez Island)

Character: Orcas is where many people first discover the San Juans _ on family-camping trips to Moran State Park, at summer camps such as Camp Orkila or staying in cabins at Doe Bay or West Beach. If you'll forgive generalizations, some say Orcas has more former Californians and people with money "who drive fast." It's perhaps more hippie-friendly than San Juan Island but not as "nuts and berries" as Lopez.

If you go

Getting there:

On a nonstop sailing, it's a 50-minute ride to Orcas Island aboard Washington State Ferries from Anacortes. Standard-size car with driver: $48.30 round-trip in summer, additional for passengers. In summer, avoid peak times (Friday afternoons island-bound, Sunday or holiday afternoons on return trips) or plan on generous time for car lines. See website for schedule and wait-time alerts: www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries.

Another option is Kenmore Air (via float plane) to Rosario Resort, West Sound or Deer Harbor (www.kenmoreair.com).

Getting around:

Take the ferry as a walk-on passenger and use the Orcas Island summer shuttle operated by San Juan Island Transit, Friday-Monday June 22 through Labor Day (plus all Fourth of July week); $10 round-trip or $15 day pass (discounts for kids 12 and younger). www.sanjuantransit.com.

As part of the new San Juan Islands Scenic Byway program, receive a free companion pass when you purchase a $15 day pass for the Orcas or San Juan Island shuttles. Sign up by taking a visitor survey at www.visitsanjuans.com/scenicbyway.

For foodies and gardeners:

Orcas Island Farmers Market is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, May through September, on the Village Green in Eastsound; www.orcasislandfarmersmarket.org.

Coffelt Farm is at 1071 Crow Valley Road; farm-stand hours 1-6 p.m. weekdays or by appointment: 360-376-3410.

Maple Rock Farm sells fresh produce most summer Wednesdays, noon-4 p.m., in front of Allium Restaurant, 310 Main St., Eastsound. Open house at the farm, with wood-oven pizza, 6-9 p.m. some Fridays. At the end of Pinneo Road (off Orcas Road); www.maplerockfarm.com or 360-622-6433.

In spring or fall, visitors to Doe Bay Resort and Retreat may trade garden work for lodging. Email the new garden manager (Heather Watts has left for college since our visit) at [email protected].

More information:

San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau: www.visitsanjuans.com

Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce: 65 North Beach Road, Eastsound; 360-376-2273 or www.orcasislandchamber.com