Best Dinghy Beaches (and worst) in the San Juan Islands

     What makes a good dinghy beach? Scroll to the bottom for my number one and number two choices when sailing the San Juan Islands

        At first I was just going to list some features good dinghy beaches share, then I realized San Juan newcomers  may need or want a warning to help in trip planning. So lets be clear, just because a beach is considered a good dinghy beach does not mean it is worthy of a visit and conversely, if someone says the beach is no good for dinghy's does not mean you should not plan a stop over. Forewarned is forearmed or something like that.

       In my opinion a good dinghy beach allows you to get to shore and back to the boat with a minimum of fuss and bother.

In no particular order, lets make a list of likes and dislikes.

• not getting feet wet getting into and out of dinghy is really nice.
• ditto for all tide levels, so the angle (slope) of the beach is crucial
• gravel versus mud is a no brain-er 
• sand is better than mud, but both track into dinghy and back to the boat (gravel doesn't track)
• something nearby to tie the painter to, like a massive old log
• a cool view of my boat when I turn around
• a nearby restroom is handy
• not smelling like dead seaweed is a plus
• fires permitted and driftwood is always nice for evenings
• nearby tide pools for exploring
• security is something some spots lack (theft of dinghy or contents)
• free roaming dogs! or other wildlife
• how about a lack of bugs and bird droppings
• what about western view of the setting sun
• protection from weather driven waves

click on -read more- to find my two best dinghy beach choices

      Okay,  this is my perfect dinghy landing. Starting in my dinghy and paddling ( or motoring ) towards a likely spot that's only a hundred feet away, I encounter no cross current or headwind, and the water is crystal clear.  I can see the bottom and it is pristine with nary a rock or reef in sight.  I scan the shore for no trespassing signs and right away spot a friendly deer eyeing me as if to say, "welcome," there appears to be a nice channel through the eel grass, with a single stroke of my oar, I effortlessly glide the final yards. The beach consists of medium size gravel, when I ship the oars I lean towards the rear raising the dinghy's bow a few inches. As she softly grounds I  lean towards shore putting extra weight on the bow firmly holding her in place. If I have passengers we carefully move forward just a little to keep the boat locked onto the beach until the first person steps off. The first person off stands on dry ground and steady's the boat but does not pull it up the beach, doing so would angle the boat possibly causing water to pour over the stern. After everyone is off I take the extra long painter up the beach to a giant driftwood log that is beached for the summer and make her fast. When I turn to survey my new domain the waiting deer approaches looking for a hand out or head rub. Scanning the woodsy area I spot a sign saying "clean restroom with flush toilets, 50 feet." Looking down I notice the gravel is heavily laced with perfect skipping stones and giant agates. I try my hand at skipping and my first five throws result in six and seven skippers and one ten. Just above the high tide mark is a fire pit and picnic tables. Near by is dry driftwood to gather for tonight's fire.

OK, OK, maybe I stretched it a little with the flush toilets, and agates, but the rest are true experiences.

       What makes a good dinghy landing beach is a lot of features all coming together just for you. If the beach is too flat you will ground out before your bow gets to dry land, and when the tide goes out you will be stranded a quarter mile from the water.  Too many rocks and you will get high grounded before reaching shore and possibly do damage as well.  Eel grass is a pain to row through and sometimes means a mud bottom and beach at low tide. Landing on a strange beach without anything to tie to will force you to carry your dinghy above the high water mark, and you should still tie to something or break out the little anchor if you are not sure.

          A real surprise after a few hours away on a hike is to return to find two foot waves breaking on shore right behind your dinghy. Now try getting back to the mother ship without getting your feet and possibly everything your wearing soaked. The point is, some beach landing sites are exposed to long stretches of open water and conditions can change in literally minutes due to a far away storm or even a ship that recently passed.  Beaches that face any of the straits are subject to sudden change.

Best dinghy beaches

        My first choice is Pelican Beach on Cypress Island and a close runner up, due to spectacular sunsets is the west shore on Clark Island.  BTW Cypress is DNR land and so there are no fees for camping or using a buoy overnight.

Updated 2019 - it's been seven years since I made these choices and now I feel I should add a few caveats. First of all, what good is a great dinghy beach if there is nothing there (on shore) of interest? Second, beaches change with each winter storm, case in point, all the great skipping stones at Pelican Beach were gone during one of my visits. Replaced by sand.  Third, my new number one choice is Jones Island, north cove.  The beach at Jones has never failed to please me.

         Now you detail oriented boaters may point out that Cypress and possibly Clark are considered not part of the San Juans by some technically tweaked logic, but they are never the less part of our cruising grounds.

        Feel free to nominate your favorite dinghy beach.

Worst dinghy beaches

       Shallow Bay on Sucia Island rates pretty low, but exploring China Caves is a real attraction and somewhat offsets the low tide mud flats.

        John

Pelican Beach

Perfect skippers at Pelican Beach

Free beachfront campsites 

Clarks got some current issues, but nothing unusual