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Sea Kayak - Nisqually Delta & Reach

Fun exploration of the Nisqually Delta at peak high tide. We saw herons, eagles, and seals basking on an island.

Rene Buendia Rene Buendia
September 19, 2022
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • Dupont Wharf Tides:  Low - 4:24 am, High - 11:32 am at 11.5 ft, Low - 4:59 pm at 7.1 ft.

    Nisqually Reach Narrows Current:  Slack - 5:16 am, Flood - 7:39 am at 0.85 knots/259 deg, Slack - 11:55 am, Ebb - 2:15 pm at 0.45 knots/44 deg, Slack - 5:30 pm

    Weather:  Temperature - low to mid 60's,  Wind - light, sometimes up to 10 knots, Wave height - less than 1 ft.  Broken clouds, occasional sun.

    Ruhr's Landing requires a Discovery Pass.  There is a toilet at the top of the parking lot.  If the Nisqually Reach Nature Center is open they like groups to park at a truck/boat spot, stacking 2-3 cars per spot.

    Nisqually Bar and Grill is an OK spot for apres-paddle refreshments and chow.

Met at Luhr's Landing around 9 am.  Launched at 10:10 am.  Reached I-5 around 11:20, just before peak high tide.  Thought about going a little further.  At this point, we've paddled about 2.5 nm.  May have gotten to some farmland but I decided to turn back to take advantage of the decreasing tide.  Since the tide was so high there weren't very many suitable places to take a break.  But still possible to stop at an island for an emergent bio-break.  We eventually decided to return to Ruhr's Landing for our lunch break.  Good thing we did.  I forgot to remind the group during the pre-trip briefing to ensure that their Discovery Pass was on display.  Someone remembered and reminded everyone.  Good thing too.  Shortly thereafter a police officer was inspecting vehicles for their passes.  Doh !!

After lunch, we decided to paddle left from the Ruhr's landing.  We had to go far enough to add up the total mileage to around 8 nm because we had a student that needed this paddle to graduate.  Before turning around at the 1.5 nm mark the student did his rescues.  

Overall I had a great time paddling with super folks.

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