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For those mariners undecided about where to go next we suggest wonderful Case Inlet in South Puget Sound for peaceful gunkholing not too far from home.
by Jo Bailey & Carl Nyberg |
 f you have not cruised Case Inlet before, it's about 10 miles north-northeast of Olympia, and extends north 14 miles from Devils Head and Johnson Point to the muddy tide flats of Coulter Creek north of Allyn. It lies between Key Peninsula on the east and forested Hartstene Island and the Olympic Peninsula on the west.
Four state parks are on the shores plus over 12 miles of public tidelands, a couple of good anchorages and other delights. Although homes are springing up along evergreen shores on both sides, the area still feels more rural than urban to us. East Shore of Case Inlet As we round 280 foot high Devils Head we may see eagles soaring on air currents high above the bluff, while currents in the waters between the head and Johnson Point make sailing "interesting." Currents are based on Tacoma Narrows predictions, with mainstream currents running either northwest or southeast. Backeddies form downstream from projecting shoreline points and bumps. Two tiny drying lagoons are just north of Devils Head, with a sign proclaiming Johnson's South Sound Wildlife refuge. Anchoring is possible for a short time in calm weather to explore the beach without disturbing the wildlife. About a mile beyond is picturesque Taylor Bay with old pilings at the entrance, but it's not a gunkhole as it dries at low tide. Joemma Beach State Park is next, immediately north of Whiteman Cove, a marine park also accessible from land. The park has a long fishing pier, moorage floats for about 20 boats, five mooring buoys north of the pier and boat launch ramp. The park is in a bight exposed to southerlies, the prevailing winter winds which sweep up the inlet. But in summer the sandy beaches catch the sun and warm the salt water on the incoming tides, making it a favorite swimming area. The 3,000 feet of shoreline are great to beachcomb, dig clams and watch herons as they also stalk their dinners along the water's edge. There are picnic and camp sites, water, toilets and no showers. The park's 122 acres hold about 0.7 miles of trails where you may spot foxes, raccoons and many varieties of birds. This lovely well-used park is fairly "civilized" as it can be reached by car as well as by boat. Park phone, 253-884-1944. Private Herron Island, about 2.5 miles north of the park, is served by a small car ferry from the Herron community dock on Key Peninsula. 
Vaughn Bay, a great gunkhole, is 12 miles north of Devils Head. Public tidelands of nearly 2,000 feet are along the sandspit at the bay's west side. All other beaches and tidelands are private. A shallow entrance is at the north end of the spit. We enter the bay carefully, preferably on the last stages of a rising tide. Depth at MLLW is charted at 1/4 fathom on Chart 18448. We favor the spit side of the entrance and once inside proceed south to anchor in the bay's southwest corner in 2 to 4 fathoms. Prudent judgment suggests leaving the bay on the high flood also. Kids love to run the entrance channel in the skiff with the current—adds a bit of excitement to the trip. Tidelands on the spit's west side are just made for exploring and clamming at low tide. There are no "facilities" here, but who cares—it's a great place to enjoy as is. A small public launch ramp is along the north shore about a half mile from the entrance. It is unusable at low tides and there is limited parking. Rocky Bay north of Vaughn Bay is exposed to the southwest and there are better anchorages around. From here north Case Inlet narrows to less than one mile and depths go from 10 fathoms to shallows of about one fathom three feet near Allyn. Two towers straddling the tideflats support 50 foot high power cables across the inlet. Then it's mostly mud, with Coulter Creek Salmon Hatchery at the inlet's head. West Shore of Case Inlet You can go, carefully, into the Port of Allyn Dock, aware that at low or minus tides you might well have a problem with the bottom bumping your keel. Most of the boats here are smaller with shallow draft keels.  Some cruisers moor at Fair Harbor Marina about three miles south and run in to Allyn in a shore boat.
The popular 600' long dock and fishing pier has a T-shaped end with floats for transient and overnight moorage for up to 10 boats, depending on size. Moorage rates per day are $8, boats 25' and under; $10, boats 26'-34'; $12, boats 35' and over. Port of Allyn, P.O . Box 1, Allyn, WA 98524; Ph: 360-275-2430. The Port built a delightful waterfront park with a pavilion, totem pole, picnic tables, single lane launch ramp, trailer parking and playground. Two annual festivals are held here: Allyn Days Salmon Bake, third Saturday in July, and a Kayak Festival the last Sunday in August. A short walk from the dock is picturesque St. Hugh's Church, now called Allyn Historic Church. Allyn has grocery stores, fast food, espresso stands, hardware store, liquor store and Lennard "K"s restaurant where you can pull your kayak or beachable boat up on the beach and enjoy the outdoor beer garden as you dine. The town boasts the "World's largest collection of chain saw carvings," and the "Largest selection of handmade quilts in the country," across the highway from each other. Stretch Island We cruise south past private Reach (Treasure) Island and in less than 3-1/2 miles reach the northeast corner of Stretch Island where we find delightful Stretch Point State Park. The park is a favorite spot for water skiers, swimmers and scuba divers. Beachcombing, clamming, fishing and picnicing are on either side of the point. By sunset the water-skiers usually quit and it's a quiet, peaceful anchorage. The little bight inside the northeast corner of the island is a nifty gunkhole, a choice spot. The park is accessible only by water. Facilities include five mooring buoys, 610 feet of shoreline, 4.2 acres of land and a porta-potti. Also on Stretch Island is the wonderful Museum of Puget Sound with Mosquito Fleet and other memorabilia. Fair Harbor Marina Leaving the park we go west for about 0.3 miles and then north for about the same distance, through a narrow channel between Reach Island and the mainland to Fair Harbor Marina on the mainland shore. (Unless you are in a small, shallow draft boat you'd best avoid the bridge with 16' vertical clearance.) 
This delightful spot, owned by Susan and Vern Nelson, is indeed a "fair harbor" with many amenities in a tiny bay: 350' guest moorage, 60˘/ft; 30 amp power, $3.50/day; showers & restrooms; convenience store; gas dock; complimentary transportation for overnight guests to Museum of Puget Sound across a bridge to Stretch Island and/or LakeLand Village Golf Course. You probably won't go aground here. We didn't and we draw 5-1/2 feet. There's about 30 feet of water in the channel. The marina also hosts the annual Grapeview Water Festival and Wooden Boat Show in July. Fair Harbor Marina 360-426-4028. www.fairharbormarina.us. East shore, Hartstene Island Continuing south in Case Inlet, we cross the north end of Pickering Pass separating Hartstene Island from the mainland and clear Dougal Point at the northeast tip of Hartstene. In three miles we reach two more parks. One is a great favorite of ours, McMicken Island Marine Park. Immediately north of McMicken is Hartstene Island Park, not called a marine park although it has 1,600 feet of shoreline plus trails through lush evergreen forests and ravines on the 315 acres of uplands. Only amenity is a parking lot at the inland trailhead. It's a good place to anchor off or dinghy to from McMicken and explore the beach and woods and pick oysters. We usually snag one of the five buoys at McMicken, enchanted by the super-clear water here. Eventually we dinghy into the island, swim a little, and if it's low tide walk a bit of the tombolo to the mainland. Only the first 100 yards west of the island are state property and the rest is private. We can also walk the beach around the island (1,661 feet) or walk on trails through the woods in the 11-1/2 acre park. It's a glorious, peaceful island, and we've been coming here since the 1960s. And that's about it for Case Inlet. However, now that you're near Hartstene, you might as well check it out and all the great spots around the island! Jo & Carl are authors of Gunkholing in the San Juan Islands, a Comprehensive Cruising Guide Encompassing Deception Pass to the Canadian Boundary, and Gunkholing in South Puget Sound, a Comprehensive Cruising Guide from Kingston/Edmonds South to Olympia. Both books are available at the 48° North Gift Shop. Jo and Carl can be reached at 206-323-1315 or at gunkholing@earthlink.net, for slide show presentations of Northwest waters. ...back to 48° North title page |
