BOAT/CAMPING IN THE SAN JUANS

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El and Bill

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Need some advice -- going to be boat/camping for two weeks in mid-June with son and two grandkids (12 & 10). If you were going to be doing such, what would be your plan? Would like them ashore (they're good light-weight campers) at night, if possible, since it would be a little snug with all aboard. Also, what places to take them and treats to share? Would like them heading back to Arizona with a pocket full of good memories from the boat and the San Juan Islands. Thanks --
 
Bill and El sounds like a fun trip. Sucia Island, Matia Island, Stuart Island, Jones Island, James Island and Doe Island are all State Marine Parks with docks and campsites ashore. There are some others including Patos Island, Clark Island and Spencers Spit that have camping and state mooring buoys or you can anchor. I think Sucia, Stuart, Matia and Doe would be the best but all of them are nice. Try the web site www.nwboating.com it has a lot of good info. Crab season opens on June 16th.

Good luck
Fred
 
You will find Sucia a lot of fun--great hiking & lots of drift wood for fires. Also with some luck you might spot some fossils.
Don't forget Jones Island with lots of tame deer.
 
Bill and El,

What Fred Said. Those are some really great possibilities for your trip with kids.

Let Kate and I know when and where and we would love to stop by and enjoy a sundowner with you while the kids are camping on the beach.

We are usually always on Guemes Is. at a minimum Thurs thru Sunday. I think you have our numbers.

Love to see you again.
 
You might want to check out copy of "Afoot & Afloat in the San Juans" by Marge & Ted Mueller at the library or buy a copy ($17.00). It does a great job of discribing all of the campsites, amenities, and anchorages.

Our favorite has been Sucia. Lots of campsites and short hikes and interesting things to see. Should not be crowded in mid June. Jones was fun in the day time. At night, the Racoons team up with the deer and steel all of your food! We even put planks on top of our plastic storage containers and they dragged them out from under them, and opened up the latches! I still have a hole in my tent where someone was trying to eat their way in.
 
Yes, what Fred said. If you want kids sleeping ashore, then the marine state parks are the way to go. We especially like Stuart, with its two harbors, Prevost and Reid. One is on each side, but it is a short walk over the hump on a trail that connects the two. Jones is really great, as mentioned, Austin just loved the tame deer. Given the time of year, the marine state parks can be slammed, and dock space can be hard to come by. One tip I was given is that the day boats must leave by 3:00 pm or pay a fee, so sometimes 2:45 or so is a good time to get an open spot at a dock. I don't know if you carry a dinghy or not, but that REALLY increases your options - catch a buoy or even just spin on the hook. We did that at Garrison Bay on San Juan, where English Camp is. No camping there through as I recall. Patos is nice ashore and lots less used, but no dock, and I would want to be on a buoy there, the night time currents through there can be a little unnerving (but I love the place, the lighthouse, the sandstone rocks, see the pix of Patos in the Daydream album). Kids will have fun rowing around the protected little harbors too. If you don't have it, I would suggest getting the current edition of Waggoners (all the boater stores have it), it has a ton of valuable information about cruising in this area, including info on the marine state parks (but a whole lot more, really I wouldn't be without it).
El and Bill":qnuujt88 said:
Need some advice -- going to be boat/camping for two weeks in mid-June with son and two grandkids (12 & 10). If you were going to be doing such, what would be your plan? Would like them ashore (they're good light-weight campers) at night, if possible, since it would be a little snug with all aboard. Also, what places to take them and treats to share? Would like them heading back to Arizona with a pocket full of good memories from the boat and the San Juan Islands. Thanks --
Click to expand...
 
You guys have really covered some great spots. Bill, El and Co. could easily spend a week at those suggestions. Heck, it's sure easy to spend two or three days at any one of those places.

A few more ideas to add to the hopper: Friday Harbor and Roche. I know, I know. A madhouse of style-conscious landlubbers fresh off the ferry, or ostentatious tubs. But mid-June is not when most folks plan their vacations, and it's often rainy or cloudy that month. You could sneak in for a meal, a movie, an ice cream cone, maybe some San Juan Islands tee-shirts, the ones with frolicking orcas bursting skyward.

Don't forget to peek into East Sound, West Sound, and Deer Harbor. And why not check into customs at Sydney and spend two days nosing around the Southern Gulf Islands? Got a great place in mind for the kids to walk.
 
OK, Brock -- that was too good a teaser -- where in the Gulf Islands?

Hey, and what great ideas, folks -- I'm madly thumbing pages and spotting places you suggested. Thanks -- and if anyone thinks of more ideas, we appreciate the help.
 
Ell and Bill,

Montague Harbor on Galiano Island in the Gulf Islands is a great destination.....lots of anchorage space, a great prov park for hiking and if you walk up the hill by the store a pink schoolbus driven by an alternative lifestyle person with music blaring from the speakers (in our case "The Greatest Hits of Fats Domino") will pick you up and take you to the Hummingbird Inn/Tavern for burgers and beer. And with some planning you can get back to Montague while it's still light out instead of in the dark like we did rowing our dinghy all around looking for our boat!

Chuck
 
Good to hear your tale about Montague and the Pub Bus, Chuck. They've been playing that same Fats Domino tape since at least 1990.
Couple times I walked to the Hummingbird, too, as it's a nice three mile trek down a quiet island road.
 
El and Bill,

One of our favorite places in the Gulf Islands is Conover Cove on Wallace Island. Most of the island is a Provincial park and Conover Cove has a dock. The island has good trails and good swimming for the kids.
 
Looks like we should go across to the Gulf Islands also. Thanks for the ideas up there. Any more thots up in those islands? You guys are great -- looks like a trip the grandkids will never forget! Thanks. e&b
 
You'll have better luck finding dock space at Conover Cove if you get there before noon. Course, that's pretty much true everywhere.
 
Catman --
Good advice -- thanks. Right now, it looks like the weekend of June 18, 19, and 20 at Sucia and then on to the Gulf Islands. Where would you think is the best place to launch? -- Cornet Bay? Can you join? e&b
 
El and Bill, your trip with your grandkids sounds wonderful. The Gulf Islands will be a treat. A thought about crossing the boarder with grandkids without parents along. A friend of mine took her two children to B.C. to ski for a week. She had birth certificates and passports, thought she was covered. The customs folks wanted proof that the father knew of the trip! They were not going to let her cross! It took her an hour to talk them into their entry. She told them to call her husband and they said the requirement was that the parent not accompanying had to send a notarized letter saying that it was ok. I don't know if this is standard policy, but it might be worth looking into. Robbi
 
Bill and El,

After Sucia, Bedwell Harbor is a great place to go thru Canadian Customs. Very informal and no waiting. I heartily encourage you to visit as many of the Gulf Islands as possible. I have toured them by land and by sea. They are so much more laid back than the San Juans and as a result the island people are friendlier. Saturna is definitely (with 250 year-round residents) one of the more remote places I've seen that is close to a major city.

Chuck
 
Really good comments from Roberta and Chuckpacific, and others. They know their stuff.

Bill and El, Cornet Bay's a good place to launch, and park. I've parked there for extended periods with no problems. And undoubtedly others will jump on this thread and offer more good ideas. Yours is a common question. Alternatives to Cornet are a sling launch at Skyline in Flounder Bay near the ferry dock, (my favorite), the state park near Skyline, and the city facility in Anacortes. The latter is preferred by most Brats, and an excellent choice. As I say, others will weigh in.

You sure you want others along to crash your party? Course, I'm a pretty quiet, shy guy. It's not often we get to see world travelers B&E, so I'll have to see about getting a day off to run up your way. Thanks for the offer.
 
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