Washington state parks

Sucia Island Marine State Park – state parks quest #51

Five things

#1. You need a boat to get here. Sucia is a large island 2.5 miles north of Orcas Island in the San Juans. Depending on the tides and currents, it’s about an hour kayak paddle or a short water taxi ride from Orcas. Unless you have your own sailboat or motorboat, you will need to get to and from Orcas via the ferry, and you’ll need to get to the water taxi launch site in Eastsound. There are rental cars, shuttles, bikes, and mopeds available on Orcas, and two departures each day on the water taxi.

#2. Don’t miss the fossil cliffs. The water taxi comes into Fossil Bay, and the cliffs are on your left as you walk toward shore. Walk slowly and keep your eyes peeled, and you’ll see hundreds of tiny fossils embedded in the rocks at the base of the cliffs.

Once I knew what to look for, I found fossils everywhere in the fossil cliffs! (Lauren Danner photo)

#3. You can camp! With your dog! Sucia’s got dozens of campsites scattered around the island, so whether you’re arriving via private boat or water taxi, you can sleep on dry land. First-come, first-served.  

#4. Echo Bay, around which the island curves like a horseshoe, can feel like a boat expo in the summer months. Dozens of boats, from modest skiffs to ostentatious yachts to multi-masted sailboats, anchor in the bay. It’s a reminder of the importance of boating in the state’s recreational landscape. By some estimates one-quarter of Washington’s households own some kind of boat.

A portion of the flotilla at Echo Bay on a summer weekday. (Lauren Danner photo)

#5. Just have a day on Sucia? Hike to Ewing Cove for a classic Pacific Northwest experience. When my daughter and I reached the cove, she said, “It’s like every Washington calendar ever.” It truly is that gorgeous.

“Like every Washington calendar ever.” Yup, that about sums up the views at Ewing Cove. (Lauren Danner photo)
Erosion has created fascinating rockscapes on Sucia Island. Pigeon guillemots use some of the deeper holes for nesting. (Lauren Danner photo)

Fast Facts about Sucia Island Marine State Park

  • 814-acre marine state park, open year-round
  • 77,700’ of saltwater shoreline
  • 60 primitive campsites, 4 reservable group camps, composting toilets
  • 25 picnic sites, five picnic shelters, potable drinking water available during summer season
  • 10 miles of hiking trails, birding, wildlife viewing
  • saltwater fishing, swimming, diving, boating
  • 640’ dock in Fossil Bay, 48 mooring buoys scattered around the island (phone-in registration), linear moorage system in Echo Bay, anchorage in all bays and coves
  • Discover Pass required, $10 daily or, for a very reasonable $30, purchase an annual pass
  • camping and roofed accommodations, hookups, reservable online or by calling 888-CAMPOUT
  • park brochure
  • park map

Land Acknowledgment

Sucia Island Marine State Park is within the traditional, ancestral, unceded territories of the Lummi People, the Semiahmoo First Nation, and the broader territory of the Coast Salish Peoples.


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