Travel Guide, Itineraries, Maps, Charts, Parks and Camping Cruises. Places to go.
Things to do. Pictures, Reviews, Moorages, Marinas, Boat Ramps and Much More.
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12/02/2017
Free Camping in the San Juan Islands
- Pelican Beach on Cypress Island
- Cypress Head on Cypress Island
- Lummi Campground on Lummi Island
- Pt Doughty on Orcas Island
- Griffin Bay on San Juan Island
Griffin Bay free camping |
Cypress Head point creates a nice protected bay with anchor balls and a very dinghy and kayak friendly gravel beach. Trails connecting to the the rest of the island are across the narrow isthmus. |
This free waterfront campground on Cypress Island is very popular with kayakers, power boaters, sail boaters, everyone likes Pelican Beach. It even has ADA compliant composting toilets. The shore is lined with about half a dozen campsites, each with tables and fire rings, directly offshore are anchor buoys. The easy trail up to the top of Eagle Bluff begins at the water edge. To find Pelican Beach simply follow the east side of Cypress Island north about one mile past the Eagle Harbor anchorage. If you run past the end of the island, turn around, you're a quarter mile too far. Here are the coordinates. 48.603400 N, 122.704134 W
That's it for free camping in the San Juan Island area. The Washington DNR has lots more free camping in other areas that are highway accessible.
11/01/2017
Cypress Island trail map
To view larger image, try right clicking and open in new window and then look for plus/minus icon.
The best way, is clicking or pasting the url below and you may then enlarge the image without it being blurry.
https://file.dnr.wa.gov/publications/amp_rec_updated_cypress_island_trail_map.pdf?yh0w7u
Cypress Island trail map |
10/27/2017
Important Camping Equipment - List - for Boat Camping
Some of the items don't belong in a gear box (like clothing) but should be listed.
For those of you that need more, try my
Mother of all packing lists - click here > Mother of all packing lists
9/26/2017
Twenty Marine Parks - Twenty Public Docks - Five Boat launching Ramps in the San Juan Islands
• Boat Ramps = Purple • Parks = Red • Docks = Green
8/23/2017
Ten lessor known places to visit in the San Juan's
Not in any order or preference!
#1 Saddlebag Island
#2 Lopez Village
Public access beach and stairs for Lopez Village |
#3 Matia Island Trail
We all have our favorite place, trail, or experience we remember fondly. I conveniently forget the rainy foggy times, recalling just the good stuff. Matia has always been that place for me. I once said to a fellow boater that if I was stuck somewhere due to bad weather or rough seas, Matia was where I wanted to be.
For an up close personal look at Matia, check out the Matia pictorial here Land and Sea around Matia |
Here is a link to a post that describes in detail >>> How to go ashore on Lummi Island
#5 Eastsound - the village (city)
The tiny Eastsound county dock is used mostly for dinghy landing, and is only one block to the village center and the largest food store on Orcas Island. |
#6 Vendovi Island Preserve
Vendovi Island float |
#7 Fort Whitman on Goat Island
Battery Harrison at Fort Whitman on Goat Island |
#7 Young Hill
View of Garrison Bay from Young Hill, Mosquito Pass is barely visible, beyond is Haro Strait, Sidney Island, and then Vancouver Island |
#8 Cypress Lake on Cypress Island
Cypress Island trail map
Cypress Lake |
Imposing Eagle Bluff |
Oops, did I say ten? Okay, try #10 - Sharpe Cove at Deception Pass
click here >> Sharpe Cove
Maiden of Deception Pass at Sharpe Cove. |
That's it, if you go see these ten places and also hit the biggies like Roche and Friday Harbor, Jones, Sucia and Stuart, etc., you will have years of great cruises.
A critic once wrote:
"All the author has done is write about his favorite places" Yes, that's exactly what I have done.
8/01/2017
Bicycle ride from the Lopez Island County Dock at Hunter Bay to Iceberg Point on the Strait of Juan De Fuca
Iceberg Point Nav. aid. In the background is Cattle Pass and San Juan Island, beautiful calm day with a little lingering low haze. Across the Strait of Juan De Fuca we were treated to the snow capped Olympic mountains
The same nav-aid viewed from the water hours later as we head north hoping to spot orcas, still a flat hazy day. You don't have to ride bikes from Hunter Bay like we did, you can anchor at Agate Beach and make the easy hike out to Iceberg Point.
Our bike and hike was just about perfect, we will do it again someday. All together we pedaled about 7 1/2 miles, and walked 1 or 2. After loading up we headed leisurely around the south end of Lopez fighting a small current until we cleared Cattle Pass where we got a little boost all the way through Mosquito Pass. We took a slip at Roche Harbor in time to watch the "Lowering of the flags" ceremony. When they fired the canon, my day was complete. I slept well that night.
7/15/2017
Five Tips for Bicycles and Dinghy's in the San Juan's
Furthermore, if you are planning to use a dock to unload bikes, and the dock is for whatever reason, ie. crowded or out of service, there go all your well thought through plans, out the window and in the drink.
Prior to heading out you should experiment with ways to load bikes into the dinghy. You do not want to learn the hard way what not to do. Poking a hole in the favorite and likely the only inflatable would be the hard way. I think type four seat cushions will protect an inflatable, but I have never tried it since my dinghy is fiberglass.
Plan ahead, one time we sewed up huge bicycle bags from tarps to protect our bikes during an extended trip we knew may have salt water cascading over us.
Tips:
- Bring your old bikes if possible, saltwater means rust. Flush and wash asap afterwards.
- I accept that I will be wading in ankle deep water when reaching shore, so I wear sandals.
- Bike chains, pedals and spokes will get snagged, be patient and super careful not to do damage while transporting and untangling a mess.
- I bring a tire patch kit, basic tools and pump.
- plus I use that anti leak slime stuff in all my tubes.
- Many of our bike rides end up as hikes where we leave the bikes unattended so we bring a cable and lock. It's not that I don't trust people, I just don't want to risk walking miles and miles back to the boat.
6/20/2017
Anchor Rode Marking
In my opinion, marking the rode is not hard nor costly. Suppliers sell tags, with footage numbers, some people use cable ties or bits of yarn.
Some exuberant skippers, mark every twenty five feet and use day-glo colors.
Years of anchoring in the San Juans has honed my system, or should I say reduced it to what works for me.
My obvious observations:
- Anchoring, like coming in to the dock or slip must be done fairly quickly or the boat floats away. This means doing math calculations or untangling snarly rode should be completed beforehand.
- Under water, red, black,and other colors look the same or just disappear.
- Trying to spot, cutesy paint marks, little tags or bits of string flying out of the hawse pipe is problematic, especially for newbie crew.
- Guesstimating how much rode has been let out is not accurate, but is never the less the system I used for years.
- I tried using a code, such as two marks, three marks, four marks to designate small increments. It was confusing, hard to keep track of, and kinda pointless anyway since I forgot the code.
- Anchoring in dark or windy conditions, or stiff current, quickly identifies inadequate systems, poor planning, and lack of preparation.
- My experience has been that all paints I have tried last only one season in salt water. Now I use whatever left over black or red latex paint or spray paint I have. I apply it on a three to four foot section.
- My first mark is at fifty feet, then one hundred, then one fifty, etc. Since I usually anchor in 15 - 20 feet the third mark never sees water and stays in good shape.
- If I suspect problems or crucial timing issues, I will pull all the needed rode out of the locker and cleanly flake it on deck beforehand.
- When I up anchor, if conditions permit, I flake the rode on deck for cleaning and drying and then carefully drop it in the locker later. Sometimes I put my thirty feet of wet or muddy chain in a milk crate and leave it in the sun. Putting away wet gear tends to stink, so I avoid it when I can, especially if I plan to anchor again that day.
- I have a pair of dedicated gloves I use for anchor handling.
How well I anchor is proportional to how well I sleep! |
5/26/2017
Visit Vendovi Island Preserve
The San Juan Preservation Trust has owned and protected Vendovi Island since 2010. Visiting days are April 1st through Sept. 30. Open hours are 10 am to 6 pm, Thursday through Monday. They are closed Tues. and Wed.
Access is a small cove at the north end. There is a 70 foot, first come no reserve dock behind the breakwater, or you may beach kayaks and dinghy's in front of caretaker home if the dock is full. No anchoring in the cove or overnight stays at the dock are allowed.
Bring your hiking shoes and plan to immerse yourself in unspoiled wilderness, but you should stay on the trails if you truly respect the wilderness and the SJPT mission to preserve. No camping, fires, bicycles, or hunting, pets are to be on leash. Enjoy!
5/08/2017
Is disaster simply one little mistake away?
This is a short accounting of what we watched evolve on a balmy calm peaceful Sunday afternoon. The gentleman side tied behind us cast off, he said he was going to swing by the pumpout on the other dock and then head for home. I waved from our cockpit and dove back into my magazine. Suddenly my concentration is interrupted by a revving engine. "Somethings wrong," I said to Linda, "look over there." The boater that had just left had entered the next fairway, the current was dragging him towards the two foot high aluminum footbridge that connects the walkways. "He's in trouble," I said, "the currents too much and he can't complete the turn." Next, to my surprise he guns the engine of his thirty footer, full throttle, attempting to make a 180 degree turn before he strikes the walkway. His boat does indeed miss the footbridge and almost completes the turn but instead, he hits the dock next to the pumpout and with engines screaming, he drives the as yet undamaged boat three quarters of the way onto the dock. Not quite out of the water and at a steep angle he slams it into reverse. The boat instantly pulls off the dock, sliding back into the water. Now mostly turned around, the boat powers backwards towards the footbridge. The unmistakable sound of crunching fiberglass is heard a split second afterwards as the driver finally throttles back and then kills the engines.
The whole sad episode is over as fast as the engines could rev up. By the time I and some other onlookers get over there with our boat hooks the boat is back in the water floating peacefully next to the pumpout. What can you say to someone that has just trashed their boat in a frenzied show of dumb mistakes compounded by more dumb mistakes.
Speaking for myself and probably a few other skippers that have misjudged currents and our boats handling or lack of handling. I will say, I too have gunned the motor in a last ditch effort to clear an obstacle. I may even have bumped a few times. Luckily I have never done any real damage or I have suppressed the memory.
Experience teaches us lessons, sometimes expensive lessons. In this instance, one lesson learned is to not try to turn around upstream of anything you don't want to hit. In lieu of that, don't hit it at full throttle.
In this situation two alternative actions come to mind. #1 the driver could have turned his boat around outside the fairway and backed down to the pumpout, although he would still run the risk of crashing if he lost power or control in the strong current. #2 and a better choice, would be to choose another location or wait for a tide change. Sometimes it is best to not push your luck.
4/27/2017
How to tie to an anchor buoy in the San Juan Islands Marine Parks
The basic anchor buoy is often simply an old foam filled tire with some sort of strong attachment ring on top, but smart skippers approach unknown buoys with caution and skepticism.
This list of dos and don'ts are suggestions, and observations, not rules, and may not apply to your boat, your gear, or your crew.
- Anchor buoys may not be in deep water, in fact you may run aground on approach.
- Don't bang into buoys, they may have sharp edges, and gel coat slashing barnacles.
- Many buoys (most in my opinion) have large amounts of plant life growing and trailing from them.
- Some buoys have abandoned lines tied to them, ready to foul your rudders and propellers.
- You can't stand on them, they won't support your weight, even for just a second while you grab the ring.
- Buoy components corrode and break and then they float loose, it is a fact! Seaweed might be all that is holding it together.
- Therefore backing down on a buoy, just like setting an anchor, is a good idea.
- Approach buoys dead slow from down wind and current, and off to one side.
- Check it out - make sure there are no long trailing lines or bits of flotsam hanging in the buoys wake.
- Match your rpm's to the current and wind so your boat is stationary next to it before moving over.
- If your boat has low freeboard, have your crew reach the ring and thread a line through it and back to a cleat. Don't tie fast to the buoy or use a snap hook or shackle or biner, you want to be able to release it from the boat, possibly in an emergency. Use a heavy line, it will chafe at the ring.
- Is your line already tied at the other end?
- Is your crew wearing a pfd?
- Make sure the crew cleats the line before you release your helm control, the current or wind may be more than they can hold by hand.
- If your boat has high freeboard, instruct crew to use your boat hook to snag the ring, but make sure you are holding stationary.
- Many anchor buoys are designed with a lifting ring and chain that you may pull up several feet out of the water enabling you to slip a line through. Sometimes lifting a heavy chain is a two man job.
- If enough seaweed is growing (attached) on the chain, it may be impossible to lift the ring, even with ten crew.
- WARNING - If the skipper leaves the helm to help, allowing the boat to drift with the current, they still may not be able to lift the ring or hold against the current.
- The boat hook may get pulled from their hands or not be possible to easily unhook for a retry. This results in losing the hook as soon as the buoy is grabbed - another good reason for having a floating hook and wearing pfd's.
- You may also pull the boat hook apart or break off the end.
- Most boats have lower freeboard in the cockpits than up on a high bow and simply grabbing the ring from the cockpit may be all that's required.
- But, watch out when working from stern!
- The boat will be much harder to control, you may tangle with propellers and rudders. Once hooked, the boat will likely spin in the wind and current increasing difficulty and strain on lines.
- Do not treat anchor buoys like fixed docks or floats. They are simple to use, but can bite the unwary.
- Lastly - don't forget that the anchor buoy has its own anchor and rode that you could tangle with, especially if you set your own hook nearby.
White with blue band is the official anchor buoy marking. |
4/03/2017
How to go Ashore on Lummi Island for Bicycling or just going to the Store
Look for public stairs and Beach Cafe. Land your dinghy on slab rock or gravel at low tide. Driftwood suggests high tide reaches to stairs. |
Mt Baker across Hale Passage is a great backdrop. |
3/12/2017
Marine Parks of the San Juan Islands and Surrounding Area
followed by reviews, charts, and pictures
in the order listed.
This is not all the parks, just the ones you may want to make part of your cruising. It's unlikely you can visit all in one trip and still do a decent job of sightseeing. You should plan multiple visits to the San Juans.
Many people choose Jones as their favorite for just hanging for a few days, so Jones is first.
For hiking, Sucia, or Pelican Beach on Cypress Island are the best, but all the parks have hiking trails.
Some parks are in a convenient location when you need to spend the night and you're between destinations, Saddle Bag, Eagle Harbor, and Odlin would fit this description. Most parks with docks have picnic tables on the floats, which are very handy for extending your living area, socializing, and meeting other boaters.
For marinas/etc. where you can get fuel and provisions try this list >> Marinas - fuel - beer and ice - slips for rent
- Jones Island
- James Island
- Clark Island
- Doe Island
- Obstruction Pass
- Pelican Beach
- Eagle Harbor
- Cypress Head
- Matia
- Patos
- Sucia
- Stuart Island (Prevost & Reid Harbor)
- Spencer Spit
- Odlin County Park
- Washington Park
- Deception Pass Park
- Saddlebag Island
- Sidney Spit Marine Park (Canada)