Birch Bay

Rating: SKIII (for fetch)

Distance:  9 NM

Date:  April 24-25, 2004

Leader:  Pete Schwab                        Participants:  2

Weather:  An absolutely beautiful weekend.  Clear skies, ~70F, light breezes.

Description:  Birch Bay was a bit of a surprise in that it's mostly an urban type of paddle.  Most of the bay is lined with homes, the 2 mile stretch of south beach belonging to Birch Bay State Park being the exception. 
        We launched from the beach at the State Park.  There's lots of parking right along the water - couldn't be easier.  Paddling out to Point Whitehorn we found ourselves very close to a huge population of Loons.  They seemed willing to talk to us but wouldn't let us approach, at least not within photographic distances.  The crossing to Birch Point is around 2 miles with great views of the Canadian Gulf Islands to the west and Point Roberts to the north.  The Point affords plenty of places to land with all the homes being atop a huge bluff.  Heading east back into the bay we encountered a harbor seal on a large rock.  Not easily spooked he let us approach fairly close before gently sliding into the sea.  We came across a secluded marina just outside of which were a few jet ski folks tearing their usual swaths through the water and scaring off the wildlife but they weren't much of a problem tending to stick to a small area right out in front of the marina.  As the tide was ebbing, Cottonwood Beach  was inaccessible, presenting us with a large mud flat so we paddled back to the State Park. 
        If your looking to do some camping and combine it with a really pleasant paddle....this is a good one.

Potential Paddles at Birch Bay:

1.  Birch Bay State Park to Drayton harbor is 14 NM round trip.
2.  If you're looking for a biggie then it's an 11 mile open water crossing to Point Roberts.

Tides/Currents: 

On an ebbing tide a great deal of the northeast part of the bay, back around Cottonwood Beach becomes a mud flat so, if you want to see the entire bay, you may want to do it on a flood.  We didn't notice any currents, eddies, or etc. in the bay.  Pretty mundane.

Charts
NOAA Chart # 18421 Strait of Juan de Fuca to Strait of Georgia
San Juan Current Guide, Page 5.

Map of the Birch Bay area: 

Directions to Launch Site:   From the intersection of I-5 and Highway 16 in Tacoma it's 140 miles (2 hours, 15 minutes) to Birch Bay State Park.  Drive north on I-5 for 132 miles and take Exit #266 (WA-548/Grandview Road) toward Custer.  Drive 7 miles on Grandview, then right on Jackson for one mile, then turn left onto Helweg.

Camping:  Birch Bay State Park is open year round for camping and day use.  There are plenty of sheltered picnic areas if the weather is crappy and you want to cook out of the rain.  Campsites are $16 (max 8 adults per site).  $10/night for a second vehicle. 
For details see:  http://www.parks.wa.gov/parkpage.asp?selectedpark=Birch%20Bay&pageno=1

Facilities:

1.  There is a convenience store located one block from the park entrance.  They have firewood and all the usual stuff.

2.  Terrell Creek Marsh is one of the few remaining saltwater/freshwater estuaries in North Puget Sound.

3.  The park features 2 miles of beach and great views of the Canadian Gulf Islands.

References:

Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce:  http://www.birchbaychamber.com/

Birch Bay Village:  http://www.birchbayvillage.com/birchbayvill.html