|
|
NOTE:
|
Most of these trips are
described in
the book Kayaking
Puget Sound, the San Juans, and Gulf Islands by author Randel
Washburne.
I've found this to be a great planning book, and I usually carry it
with
me in the kayak for reference en-route. |
1:
Seattle's Lake Union
round trip distance
9 miles
how to get to the put-in
There are a ton of places to put your boat in the water. The put-in I
use
is on Northlake Way, about a half mile northeast of Gasworks Park. This
is not a marked put in, but rather a small gravel beach behind the
trees
that are next to the road.
trip notes
A nice afternoon urban paddle. |
|
2: South
Fork Skagit River, near
Conway
round trip distance
3 miles ... maybe ...
how to get to the put-in
Drive to Conway, then follow the sideroads to the State Wildlife Area.
The put-in I used had a boat ramp next to a gravel conveyor belt going
over to the far shore. But, this is a river delta, so there are
probably
a zillion places to launch.
trip notes
If you launch where I did, you will need a sticker for your car that
allows
you to park in state wildlife areas. I got my sticker at the Wal Mart
on
the north side of Arlington next to I-5. I think it cost 10 bucks. Keep
in mind that these waters are influenced by both river flows and tides,
although on the late summer day that I was there, neither was very
strong.
That's Mt Baker in the picture, and the fallen log that shares the
picture
turned out to be a great chair for book reading and day dreaming. |
|
3: North
Fork Skagit River, near
La Conner
round trip distance
10 miles
how to get to the put-in
Drive to La Conner. Just before you get to the east side of the bridge
over the Swinomish Channel, take the side road that drops steeply down
to water level. The put-in is a boat ramp under the bridge, and there
is
parking across the street. When I was there, you put a dollar in the
box
each time you used the ramp, with the fee collection strictly on the
honor
system.
trip notes
There is a significant tidal flow through the channel. The blue arrow
in
the picture shows the direction of ebb current, which is exactly
opposite
of what I would have guessed. When you get to the mouth of the channel,
there is a break in the wooden jetty so you don't necessarily have to
go
clear out to Goat Island before turning south. |
|
4: Deer Harbor
and Jones Island
round trip distance
10 miles
how to get to the put-in
Take the ferry to Orcas Island, and drive to Deer Harbor. Walk out to
the
store at the end of the dock, and pay $5 to launch your boat and park
your
car for the day.
trip notes
The blue arrows show the direction of the ebb current, which I thought
was a strange direction in both Pole Passage and Wasp Passage. |
|
5: Decatur
Island and James Island
round trip distance
11 miles
how to get to the put-in
I used the boat ramp in Hunter Bay on Lopez Island. Take the ferry from
Anacortes. Don't even think about trying to find this boat ramp without
a good map.
trip notes
I originally planned to start this paddle from Spencer Spit Park, but
found
it closed for the winter. I ended up spending the night at a park about
a mile south of the ferry landing, then driving to the boat ramp at
Hunter
Bay the next morning. The blue arrows show the direction of the flood
current.
There is no current to speak of in most of Lopez Sound. |
|
8: Duwamish
Waterway
round trip distance
upper loop: 9 miles
lower loop: 5 miles
how to get to the put-in
For the upper loop, I used the access at the end of 112th Street, next
to the Boeing building, about a half mile south of Boeing field. For
the
lower loop, I used the little park at the end of Idaho Street (watch
carefully
for the little sign by the stoplight or you will drive right past it).
trip notes
I broke the Duwamish Waterway into 2 little trips; one on the upper
part
of the waterway, and the other on the lower part. Obviously, you could
do the whole thing at once without too much trouble. The Duwamish can
have
a fair amount of current if the tide is falling fast or if there has
been
a lot of rain or snow melt upriver, so it wouldn't hurt to take a look
at the tide tables. This trip has little to offer as far as wildlife,
but
I thought it was kind of interesting to get a closer look at some of
the
maritime commerce that makes a living along the Duwamish. For more
wildlife,
think about the Skagit River delta. |
|
8: Port Madison
round trip distance
6 miles
how to get to the put-in
Take the ferry from Seattle to Winslow, then drive to Fay Bainbridge
Park
at the north end of Bainbridge Island.
trip notes
A nice short trip with an equally nice ferry boat ride. Who could ask
for
more? |
|
9: Mats Mats
Bay South
round trip distance
8 miles
how to get to the put-in
Take the ferry from Seattle to Winslow, then head north toward Port
Townsend.
Take the turn off to Port Ludlow, then continue north along the shore
line
until you get to the boat ramp at the south end of Mats Mats Bay.
trip notes
Mats Mats Bay is a nice quiet little anchorage. I think I'll have to
drop
in next time my sailboat is in the neighborhood. However, after some
scouting
of the channel, I found one area with only 3' of depth at low water. No
problem for a kayak, but sailboats beware. Nice paddle down to Ludlow
and
back, with an interesting visit to the offshore rocks on the return
trip
north. |
|
10:
Anacortes south
round trip distance
11 miles
how to get to the put-in
Drive past the Anacortes ferry terminal, past Skyline Marina, and go to
the boat ramp at the north end of Washington Park. I think there is
also
another boat ramp further south next to Skyline marina if you want to
shorten
the trip.
trip notes
There was a significant tide rip in Burrows Pass (just north of Burrows
Island) when I came through there. You will be on the edge of Rosario
Strait,
so tidal currents will be something you will probably have to deal with. |
|
11: Friday
Harbor south
round trip distance
8 miles
how to get to the put-in
Take the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor. Pay a round-trip launch
fee of $5 to the Harbor Master, located a block or two north of the
ferry
terminal. The actual launch site you are suppose to use is the next
dock
north of the Harbor Master's building, over there by the custom's
building.
trip notes
This was mostly a mellow trip, but there was a significant tidal
current
off the east end of Turn Island, which you can avoid (if you want) by
going
on the west side of the island. There are some tidal rocks near the
south
end of my trip that I used as a lunch break. |
|
12: Winslow
round trip distance
8 miles
how to get to the put-in
Take the ferry from Seattle to Winslow. As you leave the ferry
terminal,
take a left at the stoplight. You should drive to the city park thats
about
a quarter mile down the shoreline from the ferry terminal. Its a bit of
a walk from the parking area to the water. There is a boat ramp at the
far end of the park, but you may have to drive around a bit to find it.
trip notes
I had excellent weather the day I did the trip, and there were no
problems.
Of course, if the wind picked up, all that could change quickly,
especially
with an afternoon north wind. There were no public beaches along the
way
that I could see. |
|
13:
Port Townsend north
round trip distance
4 miles
how to get to the put-in
There are lots of ways to get to Port Townsend, so I won't go into
that.
The trip I did was just a short little trip of a couple hours or so. I
launched from the Point Hudson marina, which is at the north east end
of
the downtown waterfront area. There is a boat ramp there, but I was
chased
away when I tried to park next to the ramp. I learned that just because
there is not a no-parking sign doesn't mean you can park there (it
would
be interesting to see if that held up in court). Parking is a bit of a
pain in this area, but the person who shooed me away was also good
enough
to point out a place where I could park (which was also not marked).
trip notes
Like I said, this is just a few hours of paddling out to Point Wilson
and
back. Most of the trip is fairly protected, but be careful around Point
Wilson. The tidal current is strong and the tidal rips are common. I
had
no problem powering through what little current I encountered, but this
is one of those areas where a capsize could put you way offshore really
fast if the tidal gods happened to be in a playful mood that day. Hell,
even big boats occasionally get thrown around here. I talked to a
friend
who sailed a big sailboat from Hawaii to Seattle, and the roughest
conditions
they encountered were off Point Wilson. If its a nice day and you know
what the currents are doing there is no need to be afraid of paddling
around
the point and taking a quick look in the general direction of Japan,
just
be careful when you're doing it. The trip from Port Townsend south is
described
a little lower down. |
|
14:
Spencer Spit
round trip distance
9 miles
how to get to the put-in
Take the ferry from Anacortes to Lopez Island. Drive off the ferry
(after
it docks) and go straight down the main road for a mile or so until you
reach the turn off for Odlin Park on your right (if you reach Mackaye
Harbor
at the south end of the island, you went too far). You can park there
for
free during the day, but its a popular camping place during the summer,
and camp sites fill up fast.
trip notes
This is really a wonderful paddle on a nice day, just about perfect for
a whimp paddler such as myself. You can have lunch at the park on
Spencer
Spit. I guess you could start from here, too, except that (1) you would
probably have to park farther from the water, and (2) the park is not
always
open in the off-season. |
|
15:
Port Townsend south
round trip distance
8 miles
how to get to the put-in
Once you get to Port Townsend, park near the boat ramp at the Marina
just
south west of the ferry terminal. Plenty of free parking here.
trip notes
The shoreline immediately south of Port Townsend is not particularly
interesting,
but crossing over to Indian Island and Fort Flagler is a little better.
The military apparently ownes a good portion of Indian Island, so you
should
avoid landing there unless you enjoy jails. I didn't see much current
until
I was just south of Fort Flagler Park. There is a section of very
shallow
water (a few feet or less) where the tidal current pours into (or out
of)
Kilisut Harbor. I didn't encounter any tide rips there, just a lot of
enthusiastic
current. |
|
16:
Anacortes east
round trip distance
11 miles
how to get to the put-in
Drive to Anacortes, and park somewhere near the boat ramp at the Cap
Sante
marina, which is over by the big Safeway store.
trip notes
Expect some current in Guemes Channel, and work that into your trip
plan.
There was a little tide rip action off Southeast Point when I paddled
through
there; I could hear it, but I paddled close to shore and did not have
to
get out there in it. Saddlebag Island is a nice place (and I think the
only place) to stop for lunch. |
|
17: Shaw Island
round trip distance
14 miles
how to get to the put-in
The put-in is at Odlin Park. See the notes for trip #14, Spencer Spit.
trip notes
This makes for a long day if you begin and end your day in Seattle like
I did. But, you can still do the trip without any really strenuous
paddling.
However, this assumes that you don't try to paddle against a strong
current
in the San Juan Channel. Either check your tide tables, or come
prepared
for a workout. I did most of the trip at my usual slow pace and had
plenty
of time. Blind Island is a public park, but not too many other places
to
get out of your boat. It was a very nice shoreline, though, and I
enjoyed
my trip. |
|
18:
Roche Harbor
round trip distance
12 miles
how to get to the put-in
Take the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor and then drive toward
Roche
Harbor. I opted to put-in before I reached Roche Harbor. There is a
park
called British Camp on Garrison Bay with water access, but its a fairly
long carry from the parking area to the water. If you need to park
closer
to the water, try Roche Harbor.
trip notes
This was a fairly tranquil trip the day I did it, but Haro Strait and
Spieden
Channel add up to a lot of water, and potentially a lot of current, and
potentially a lot of waves. The western shoreline of Henry
Island
was great to paddle along on a warm sunny day, but my guess is that
there
would be a lot of bashing and crashing along this rocky shoreline on a
windy day. There was a faily stong current between Battleship Island
and
Henry Island the day I was there, with some minor tidal rips, but it
was
easily handled (at least it was on the day I was there, which had light
winds). Tidal current is also a fact of life in Mosquito Pass, but
nothing
that I could not power through, and you can often get out of the
current
by eddy hopping. |
|
19:
Mats Mats Bay North
round trip distance
10 miles
how to get to the put-in
See the description above for Mats Mats Bay South.
trip notes
There were several places to pull ashore in the vicinity of Marrowstone
Island and Indian Island, and also at Oak Bay County Park (just west of
the south enterance of the Port Townsend Canal). Everything else was
private
property. I was a little concerned about accidentally stepping out on a
beach owned by the military weenies on Indian Island, but I was told
that
their property is all north of the road & bridge that connects
Marrowstone
Island with the mainland, so as long as you are south of the bridge you
should be okay. |
|
|
