Doe Bay Resort
After primitive camping in Moran State Park, it was time to ride to Doe Bay Resort, a new age retreat with spa. The facility offers yoga, massage, workshops, and accommodations: cabins, lodges, yurts, RV spaces and tenting sites. There is even a tree house nearing end of construction suitable for a couple who wants to sleep among trees. This was the third time I visited Doe Bay. The resort underwent major changes in the last decade. The property was up for sale in 2002 and was in much need of major care. The property was going to be broken up and sold as separate parcels, until Seattle entrepreneur Joe Brotherton, and his wife Maureen, bought the property in 2003.
The Doe Bay Café, along with the Doe Bay Garden, has become an eco-friendly gourmet restaurant, offering fresh and healthy “seed-to-table” cuisine that is getting national attention and delighting “foodies” from near and far. Their cuisine mantra seems to be "less is more" when it comes to portions and some diners complain about that -- especially considering their menu tends to be pricey. The plating is done artistically, colorfully, and with flower petals.
I was assigned the Minke camping spot, just big enough for a small bike tent and the bay views were a bonus. For future travelers, the Seal Landing is one of the best small tent spots with bay views and a picnic table. One of the best ocean view yurts is the Orcas Yurt.
One of the best features of the compound is the clothes-optional spa area. It features three outdoor hot tubs, a dry sauna, outdoor shower and an on-site bathroom. Massage in one of their on-site treatment studios, is available.
During the late 1960s and through the 70s, what is now Doe Bay Resort & Retreat was called the Polarity Institute, a center for Polarity Therapy, an alternative energy medicine system that was developed in the 1940s by Dr. Randolph Stone, an Austrian immigrant from Wisconsin. Although the doctor was not in residence at Doe Bay, a group of followers touted his holistic medical techniques and the use of “complementary forces” of energy through touch, talk therapy, nutrition and other means, to heal the body. Many saw Doe Bay as a ‘hippie haven,’ where people from all over the world would visit, and there was a close-knit, small community.
For a history of Doe Bay, click here.
The Doe Bay Café, along with the Doe Bay Garden, has become an eco-friendly gourmet restaurant, offering fresh and healthy “seed-to-table” cuisine that is getting national attention and delighting “foodies” from near and far. Their cuisine mantra seems to be "less is more" when it comes to portions and some diners complain about that -- especially considering their menu tends to be pricey. The plating is done artistically, colorfully, and with flower petals.
I was assigned the Minke camping spot, just big enough for a small bike tent and the bay views were a bonus. For future travelers, the Seal Landing is one of the best small tent spots with bay views and a picnic table. One of the best ocean view yurts is the Orcas Yurt.
One of the best features of the compound is the clothes-optional spa area. It features three outdoor hot tubs, a dry sauna, outdoor shower and an on-site bathroom. Massage in one of their on-site treatment studios, is available.
During the late 1960s and through the 70s, what is now Doe Bay Resort & Retreat was called the Polarity Institute, a center for Polarity Therapy, an alternative energy medicine system that was developed in the 1940s by Dr. Randolph Stone, an Austrian immigrant from Wisconsin. Although the doctor was not in residence at Doe Bay, a group of followers touted his holistic medical techniques and the use of “complementary forces” of energy through touch, talk therapy, nutrition and other means, to heal the body. Many saw Doe Bay as a ‘hippie haven,’ where people from all over the world would visit, and there was a close-knit, small community.
For a history of Doe Bay, click here.
RSS Feed