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7/22/2013

Did you know you can land your Dinghy at Lopez Village?

       Right along the bank in the center of the Village (by the fudge shop) is a short stretch of public beach. The property on each side of this beach is private, but the stairs are public  There are two little access places that I will locate in a minute. What this means is that you may anchor your boat and then come ashore by dinghy right in Lopez Village and you wont have to walk from one of the resorts almost a mile away in Fisherman Bay.
Lopez Village public access stairway
This is the public stairs you will look for from offshore

Lopez Village public access stairway
This is the sign that authorizes you to walk from the your dinghy on the beach to the grocery store only one block away. The beach beyond this stairway in the background is private.  Its odd that there are plenty of no trespassing signs telling you where not to go, but this is the only sign telling where you may go.

Screen shot of Fisherman Bay with Lopez Village access marked with red dot
This is a google images snapshot of popular Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island. The red dot locates where the public stairs and beach are located. The village is adjacent to the stairs so you can get ice cream and fudge with minimal effort. The grocery store is about a one block walk. Btw, only fifty yards from the stairs is the public restroom with a donations only hot and cold shower. Suggested donation is $2, and there is no timer, now how cool is that?
If you have a navigation chart, you will find the stairs is almost directly opposite the red dolphin nav. aid marking the  submerged spit at the bay entrance. (this means you will drive your boat within a couple hundred feet of the stairs, you cant miss em.)
I said there were two access points, the other is south of the red dot about 1-2 blocks, its a low bank off a gravel parking lot with no signs. The stretch between the two accesses is not public beach  ( see comments) but I would simply go right to the metal stairway pull my dinghy up and tie it to one of the galvanized legs.