A Paddler's Guide to the Salish Sea.: kayaking san juans

Showing posts with label kayaking san juans. Show all posts

5/12/20

New Kayaking Puget Sound Facebook Group!

I've just started a new Kayaking Puget Sound Facebook Group so you all can post trip ideas, trip reports, boat or board reviews or for sale items and any other related paddling questions.

Open to all human powered paddling craft - SUP, rowers, kayaks, canoe and prone.

Ask to Join here..
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1322209787977756/

Deception Pass

5/16/17

San Juan Islands - Planning a San Juan Islands Paddling Trip

Check out my new article for Kenmore Air Magazine on Planning a San Juan Islands Paddling Trip.

A bonus addition to this article is another piece I wrote on 5 Paddle In Cafe & Stores in the San Juan's (Pg 58).

Read the Story Here

Learn:
- Where to go for your skill level
- Rent vs bringing your own boards/boats
- How to plan your trip for currents, weather, boat traffic, etc
- Who to rent and take paddling lessons from
- Going solo? What to pack, safety gear, etc
- Resources - my book, weather links, tide/current links

Thanks to various local San Juan Island's paddling business for their local paddling and travel info!

Rob Casey is author of Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, 60 Trips and Stand Up Paddling Flat Water to Surf and Rivers, both by Mountaineers Books. He owns Salmon Bay Paddle a SUP school in Seattle. Get in touch: rob@salmonbaypaddle.com

San Juan Islands - Orcas Island Paddler's Guide to Rentals

Kenmore Air has been in touch with me to provide guide services to one of their charters for a summer day trip from Seattle to Orcas Island. Their group has up to 25 participants which means we need to supply the boats and boards. In planning this tour, I've had a chance to chat with many of the board/board rental operations on the island. To save you the effort, here's a list of the basic rentals and resources I found..

Cascade Lake - a wilderness lake south of East Sound in Moran State Park. You may not think of paddling a lake given the epic paddling spots on the island, but it's actually a very pretty spot and will give more wind protection and opportunities for beginning paddlers not ready for tidal currents surrounding the rest of the island. Check in with Adventure Orcas for sup, canoe, pedal boats and kayak rentals. Nice folks!

West Beach Resort - Located on the west side of the island, West Beach has a string of rustic cabins in a nice bay with a view of Waldron Island. They have a few sup and kayak rentals for guests and run a weekly SUP race Sundays and Thursdays at 5:30pm. Race winner gets an off season night's stay!

Shearwater Kayak Tours - A great shop and professional rental operation, Shearwater also offers tours and/or has a summer base in spots like Deer Harbor, West Beach, Doe Bay and Rosario Resort. They also run tours out to Sucia Island.

Body Boat Blade - If you're looking for the best in sea kayak instruction not only on Orcas but in the entire region, BBB's owners Leon and Shawna are super professional, safe but also fun folks to paddle with. They also have a shop in East Sound. From the basic to advanced paddling including rolling, tidal rapids, adventure trip training to open water classes, they cover it all. And they have a few sups for rent on the island as well.

Need to get there in a jiffy? Take a day or overnight trip there with Kenmore Air. Avoid the ferries lines and traffic.

* Learn more about paddling in the San Juan's in my article planning for a paddling trip in the SJ's for Kenmore Air Magazine.

My book, Kayaking Puget Sound also has epic trips covering the entire island and surrounding islands.

Cascade Lake, Orcas Island

From the Body Boat Blade website

2/14/13

Campsite Update Cypress Head, San Juan Islands - 2/13 for Trip #42

Here's a mid winter campsite update for Cypress Head on Cypress Island.

"My crew and I were out there from the January 10th- 17th, reconstructing the 7 campsites located on the tide island above the tombolo. So far, we have constructed several hundred feet of split-rail fence along the eroding bluff on the site's north and northeast sides, and constructed 7 brand new tent pads at most of the former "unofficial" camping spaces. The tent pads are 10'x10', and will fit any large family tent, and possibly two 2 person tents. Obviously, our hopes are that campers will use only these camping spaces when on the upper campground. The two sites on the tombolo's west side remain unchanged, besides being slated for new fire rings. All sites will be receiving new fire rings, and improvements to the picnic tables will also occur before the May opening. A new access trail to the tide island's south side will also be constructed before then, as the old trail takes hikers along parts of the eroding bluff. Several of the social trails around the campground were also decommissioned upon our visit, and a number of hazard trees were removed in the process. As to our code of ethics and general awareness, several bags of trash (mostly plastics) were removed from the beach."

Submitted 2/13 to the WWTA by:
Kristian Tollefson
WCC Crew Supervisor; Skagit DNR

Learn more about my book Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juans, 60 Trips. I also offer SUP and Kayak lessons available throughout the year at Salmon Bay Paddle. Questions about paddling on the Salish Sea, give me a holler anytime at salmonbaypaddle@gmail.com or 206-465-7167

Support the Washington Water Trails Association and the Cascadia Marine Trail. The wwta works to create and protect access for paddlers on Puget Sound as well as provide an extensive network of over 60 paddle-in camping sites - www.wwta.org

2/8/13

Puget Sound Islands for Fitness Training Paddles

Lummi Island

Darrell Bedmark, a pro prone paddle boarder from Seattle who I regularly paddle with, mentioned that he was seeking trips where he could use to train for races. His hope was to find routes which are scenic and interesting rather than just a straight line or in our urban environment. I recommended the following..

Here's a few suggestions of cool places to paddle if you're seeking a challenging distance or water conditions...

- Squaxin Island (South Sound) - undeveloped and owned by the Squaxin Tribe. You can't land there but it's undeveloped shores is probably how Wilkes of Vancouver saw the Sound for the first time.

Marrowstone & Indian Islands

- Lummi Island (North Sound) - Off Bellingham Bay, Lummi is partially developed but very interesting with beach homes, reef fishing platforms on it's west side, and vertical cliffs on the south side. Expect tidal currents. Best launch is adjacent to the Squaxin Ferry terminal.

Squaxin Island, south side.

- Marrowstone Island & Indian Island (Port Townsend) - One of my favorites while skipping music camp classes to hide in Fort Flagler's bunkers in the late 70's. Both lands have sections of very calm protected water and exposed areas to tide rips, wind, and freighter waves. Check the book for details. Best launches are Oak Bay; Port Hadlock; Mystery Bay; Fort Flagler; East Beach.

Determine distances using Google Maps, marine charts or if you can find them, the SeaTrails maps (we think this company has closed).

Prone Paddling: Using a long narrow surf ski like surfboard powered by hand paddling on knees or chest.

Others...
- Vashon Island
- Harstene Island
- Anderson Island

BC:
- Pender Island
- Saturna Island
- Wallace Island

1/30/12

Washington Water Trails Association - WWTA

Since 1990, the Washington Water Trails Association has been helping secure public access and human powered watercraft campsites throughout Puget Sound, Willapa Bay, the Columbia River, the Snake River, and the lakes bordering Seattle.

Trails include:

- Cascadia Marine Trail.
- Lakes-To-Locks Water Trail.
- Willapa Bay Trail.
- Lower Columbia River Water Trail.
- Northwest Discovery Water Trail.

The Cascadia Marine Trail, one of the more popular water trails of the WWTA includes over 140 miles of water from Olympia to the Canadian boarder. By becoming a member (starts at $35 a year), you can have access to their online maps, travel info and details regarding each site. Below is a the page for the San Juan Islands. The triangles are the WWTA campsites for the region.

San Juan Islands:
http://www.wwta.org/trails/CMT/campsites/san_juans/

Learn more about my book Kayaking Puget Sound and the San Juans, 60 Trips. I also offer SUP and Kayak lessons available throughout the year at Salmon Bay Paddle. Questions about paddling on the Salish Sea, give me a holler anytime at salmonbaypaddle@gmail.com or 206-465-7167

Support the Washington Water Trails Association and the Cascadia Marine Trail. The wwta works to create and protect access for paddlers on Puget Sound as well as provide an extensive network of over 60 paddle-in camping sites - www.wwta.org

1/22/12

Paddling to Burrows Island from Anacortes, WA - Trip # 29

Alice Bight, location of the WWTA campsite.

Located a short distance off Fidalgo Island and city of Anacortes, Burrows offers a quick wilderness escape. From Skyline Marina at Anacortes, the paddle is about 5 minutes to the undeveloped island. Many also appoach Burrows as a stopping off point when paddling between Anacortes and Deception Pass.

On the eastern shore, there's a Cascadia Marine Water Trail site with one of the best outhouses around. The campsite is perched 20 feet above the little protected cove well protected from southerly and northerly winds. A lighthouse is on the western shore above the water on a rocky cliff. You can land there in the rocky nook on the north side of the lighthouse.

West side of island.

Currents at Burrows are quite strong and friends have spoken of a standing wave on the southern shore in certain conditions. Private Allen Island borders Burrows on it's south side. Circumnavigating Burrows can take about 1.5hrs if you're in a hurry or longer, which recommended. The island's rocky shores and madrona and fir lined forests make it a very scenic paddle or stopover.

Make sure to check the current table for the area prior to launching. Wind can funnel through both the north and south sides of the island. Wind vs current can create route conditions.

Street park is available by Skyline Marina and in the dirt pay lot by the water.

Washington Water Trails link to Burrows for more info, HERE.