Quick distance chart from where you are to where you want to be in the San Juan Islands

    What are the boating distances between key destinations in the San Juan Islands?   

   Boating distances in the San Juan Islands are shorter than many expect, with most popular destinations 5 to 20 nautical miles apart. For example, Friday Harbor to Roche Harbor is about 10 miles, and Sucia Island is roughly 15–20 miles away from Friday Harbor but fairly close to Squalicum Harbor. This handy chart helps boaters estimate travel time, fuel needs, and daily route planning. 

Every skipper needs to know how far it is from A to B.

      Here's a handy chart with the work already done, the distances are via the shortest route.

                                  First published 7/30/2016   

Note: The shortest route may not be the fastest or best route when currents and other issues are taken into account!
These numbers are approximate, and were derived by simply clicking "measure route" on a chart. Since making this chart I have come across several u-tube videos with distances that don't agree with  mine. Be sure to not rely on others and do your own calculations. 

When you are rushing from place to place, be very careful around unfamiliar surroundings so that you don't get a surprise.  The best advice is to slow down and keep watch.  Follow this link to learn of some shockers.  > Eight nasty surprises

Ten Best Parks of the San Juan Islands

  What and where are the San Juan Islands' ten best parks?  

   Let's start by listing my choices in order of best first, first because they have overnight docks,  followed by some pros and cons, and a few real-world comments.  (Hopefully, I haven't omitted your favorite)  Keep in mind, we go to all the parks and don't dislike any but there is no doubt some parks are five-star and some are not, depending on what we are doing or the weather during that particular cruise.

     For a more detailed review of the San Juan area marine parks, including maps try this post.  marine parks

parks with docks

• Jones Island   

• Matia

• Sucia - Fossil Bay

• James Island

• Stuart Island  (Prevost & Reid Harbor)

• Sharpe Cove and Cornet Bay at Deception Pass

parks without docks

• Saddlebag Island

• Pelican Beach

• Turn Island

• Eagle Harbor

• Cypress Head

• Patos

• Sucia   (Echo and Shallow bays)

• Spencer Spit

• Odlin County Park  (has 2 hr dock)

• Clark Island

• Doe Island

• Obstruction Pass

• Sidney Spit Marine Park (Canada) (has overnight dock)

• Washington Park  (launching ramp only dock)

• San Juan County Park

• Shaw Island Park

1 - Jones Island is my number one choice and here's why

       Pros:

• bigger but not the biggest dock

• protected bay 

• great dinghy beach with a couple of tidepools

• anchor buoys and lots of room to anchor

• running water and four nice nearby composters

• Hiking the many loop trails at Jones never gets boring

• tiny deer, many tame, are unique to Jones

• dock is very close to camp sites for evening fires

• close to Deer Harbor for supplies

        Cons:

• crowds sometimes

• long way back to the mainland

• open to the north wind

• no bicycle trails

  2 - Matia Island never disappoints us.

        Pros:

• very small intimate dock for four boats

• usually room when we arrive

• small protected bay holds about four more boats

• great gravel beach

• multiple coves for beachcombing

• puffins, seals and eagles and great sunsets

• unique rain forest one mile or less loop trail

• somewhat close to Squalicum Harbor (2-3 hours)

• restroom at top of gangplank

• Matia is a peaceful quiet special place

click here for the rest

North to Patos Island

What is there to see at Patos Island? 

Patos Island offers a historic lighthouse tour and scenic views of Canada's Gulf Islands. The international border is about two miles to the west, making Patos the furthest north of the San Juan Islands. 

 Visitors can explore short hiking trails, walk the rocky beaches, and enjoy a peaceful, less-crowded setting that feels remote compared to more popular islands.

Patos is just north of Sucia, hardly two miles depending on where you measure, so if you are at Shallow Bay, you can run up there in just an hour or much less. 

Patos is as far north as you can get and still have some land to land on before entering Canada.(Okay, we all know Point Roberts has some land)

 What you will have when you get there is two islands, Patos and Little Patos, together they create a pretty cool little anchorage. Run your boat all the way to the north end and enter alongside the lighthouse, have your camera ready, its a picturesque  place for sure.  There are no docks so puttster up to the dinghy beach and drop anchor in front of the picnic area. Back in the woods 75 yards or so is a nice campground along the trail to the lighthouse.

         Basically there are two trails to hike.  There is a one-miler or so that makes a circle in the woods and is sort of boring, so you have been warned. 

The other is a ten minute walk out to the lighthouse and most of it is akin to a road.  Be sure to visit the lighthouse, recently volunteers have been holding open house during peak summer months. Inside they have old photos, scrap books, artifacts and you can climb the light tower.  (it's hot up there if the sun is out)

         If you want to keep your walking to an absolute minimum on perfect concrete pathways, run your dinghy ashore next to an old concrete thing with a post 
sticking out of it. 

 It's left over from when the coast guard needed a landing spot. This concrete thing is well inside the protection of the anchorage bay, but its at least halfway or closer to the lighthouse.  You will have to scramble up a rock or two, but right at the top begins a three foot wide concrete path that goes all the way to the lighthouse. We choose this route if we are only headed for the lighthouse, it saves rowing and walking, and if we are anchored right in front, why not!

         A little warning about the tiny channel

 between Patos and Little Patos:

         Yes you can run your boat through there but, there may be a current and at low tide it gets a little thin. It's kinda creepy when you can see bottom on both sides of your boat. We take our boats through, but only dead slow into the current, never with the current.  If you are the least bit concerned, just go around, it's only one or three minutes and you get to take a picture of the lighthouse to boot.

          I recommend visiting Patos for lunch or 
spend the night.

 On our last trip to points further north we used Patos as a jumping off point and a return point, it was like coming home.

 This is the concrete thingy,  (you have to see it) the teensey dinghy beach and the trail is to the left between the rock and the post.  BTW, you could anchor here and stern tie to that post.  You can see the picnic area and main dinghy beach way, way beyond the anchored boats, so this saves some walking and rowing.

 This trail was built to US Coast Guard standards, it's probably a foot thick.

There is a lot of old foundation concrete out in the grassy areas on both sides, with a little sleuthing you can figure out where the buildings were, and imagine much of the original installation. Pictures and drawings inside the building show where everything was.

 Volunteers camp in the campground and maintain hours for visitors, you could spend several hours inside learning the history, it's well on its way to being a museum.  Don't forget the Stuart Island lighthouse has a similar setup and they do call it a museum. 

Click below for a satellite view of  the Patos Island anchorage