Camano Island Circumnavigation
(aka:  The Island County Surprise)

Rating: SKIII

Distance:  36 NM

Date: August 29, 2003

Leader:  Pete Schwab                        Participants:  4

Launch:  5:30  am                                Return:  8:30 pm

Weather:  Clear skies, high seventies.  Windless in the am but 10-15 knot north wind in the afternoon.

Description: Before I go into a description of our trip there are 3 things you'll want to pay close attention to:  They'll make your day a lot more pleasant.  They should also allow you to do the trip in about 12 hours (36 NM) instead of 15 hours and 40 NM (our experience).

  1. Locating West Pass ( Suquamish River) from the north at high tide.  At high tide, once you round the north end of Camano you can't see the river (West Pass) that leads to Port Susan.  Nothing but marsh scattered over a couple of miles.  The chart shows sort of an island at the mouth of West Pass but that won't be apparent either.  What you will see is a whole bunch of pilings sticking out of the water and the bridge over the highway in the distance.  Head for the pilings and pass through all of them.  The last line of pilings heads generally in the direction of the highway.  About 100-150 yards past this last set of pilings head south following the pilings.  You'll go straight into the river.

  2. Timing your tides correctly for the passage through West and South passes and through north Port Susan.  You'll want to plan on being at the juncture where the river heads into Stanwood at high tide.  That way you'll be riding the ebb into and through Port Susan.  You'll also find enough water to paddle through the north end of Port Susan at high tide.  We were running late and came very close to being stuck in the mud until the next tide.

  3. Parking at the Maple Grove County Boat Launch.  Park only in the spots that are for "cars only"  DO NOT park in the area designated for "Trucks with Trailers"!  All of this was not apparent to us in the dark at 05:00.  When we returned after 15 hours of paddling our cars had been towed!  It cost us $1300 to retrieve 4 cars!!!!!!!  Oh yah, by the way....it appears that the locals may be using that place for their overflow parking!  While the guys were in town retrieving our cars, I stayed behind to keep an eye on our equipment.  At 10:30 pm the place was completely dark, there was no one around....no one on the beach...but most of the "cars" parking area was still full!  No kayak racks!  No people!  And that's the "Island County Surprise". We are currently requesting a hearing (they want another $41 each for the hearing).  I will post the results of the hearing when it's all over.  This crap comes from the Sheriff of Island County!  It appears to me that any of us is subject to this kind of treatment anywhere in Island County.  We all need to understand what the results of the smallest violation can be.  My Montero cost $439 to retrieve.

    We launched at 05:30, about 30 minutes before the sun peeked over the Cascades.  To paddle the island in a clockwise direction we wanted to be in the Stanwood area, in West Pass at high tide. Rounding the north end of the island we were confronted with scattered marsh and no apparent entrance to West Pass.  Thanks to yours truly we paddled way too far east looking for the river and, in the final analysis, lost an hour and a half before actually entering the pass and paddling through to the north end of Port Susan. 
    There was water in the north end of Port Susan but not a helluva lot.  We paddled pretty rapidly for a couple of miles to get free of the impending mud flat.  At that point we decided to forego any breaks and head straight for Camano Head at the south end of the Island.  We arrived around noon and had made up about an hour of our lost time.  There's plenty of beach at the south end so we had our lunch and a nice break.
    There was an element of concern that the afternoon could bring temperatures in the 80's and the attendant loss of energy one can feel paddling in the heat.  That's not what we got.  We got north winds 10-15 knots.  It remained windy all afternoon and slowed us considerably.  It was 8:30 pm before we reached Maple Grove and dark, as it had been when we left the Grove in the am.
    Option:  If you're anticipating north winds you might want to run the island counterclockwise.  Maybe pick a day when you can launch from Cavalero Beach County Park on the east side of Camano and go through the pass on the rising tide. That'll take you down the west side of Camano during the morning and early afternoon hours, then back north on the more protected east side to finish up the trip.

Tides/Currents:  We rode the ebb south and the flood back north as we circumnavigated in a clockwise direction.  The current in the Suquamish (West and South Passes) ebbs north and south from the point where the river turns east at Stanwood.  We went through from the north against pretty much max ebb and had no problem paddling against the current.  The best way to do this is to plan to reach the Stanwood juncture at high tide.  Don't forget that the first couple of miles of Port Susan becomes a mud flat at low tide.  We were running about 2 hours behind schedule and just made it through Port Susan by the hair of our chiny-chin-chins.  We actually bottomed out a couple of times.  If you go through the pass at high tide, going south in Port Susan should not be a problem.

Charts:

Waterproof Chart #30 – Puget Sound – International Sailing Supply.
Puget Sound Current Guide – Island Canoe, Inc.
Chart # 18423 - Bellingham to Everett, Page E.

Directions to Launch Site: From I-5 at Highway 16 in Tacoma, it takes about 1 ½  hours (~90 miles) to get to Camano Island (Maple Grove Boat Ramp).  Drive north on I-5 towards Vancouver until you get to Exit 212 and take WA-532 West towards Stanwood/Camano Island for 10.3 miles until you see the slight fork to the right.  Take the fork to the right to get on North Camano.  Go 3.4 miles to Maple Grove Road and turn right.  Go 0.5 miles on Maple Grove Road and turn right into the parking area at the launch ramp.

Facilities:  
1.  Maple Grove has space for about 6 or 7 cars in the "cars" parking area.  DO NOT park in the area for trucks with trailers.  THEY WILL TOW YOU!

2.  There's a port-o-let, in good shape at Maple Grove.

3.  Camano Island State Park has a decent beach to land on and bathrooms in the parking area.  Also picnic tables.

Sample Magazine Submittal:  Camano Island Circumnavigation (SKIII). 36 NM. Launch at 0530 for a clockwise circumnavigation from Maple Grove. Pace will be moderate (~3.5 knots) to complete the day around 1800.  Wet or dry suit and tow system required. Preparation for this trip should include a trip of at least 25 NM prior to sign up.

References: 

Scott, James W., and Melly A. Reuling. Washington Public Shore Guide. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 1986. pp. 140-141.

Mueller, Marge and Ted. North Puget Sound, Afoot and Afloat. Seattle: The Mountaineers. 1995. pp. 108-109.