Seattle Branch San Juan Islands Paddling Experience

ABOUT THE AWARD

The purpose of this badge is to encourage people to explore the beautiful San Juan islands and vicinity. Each trip provides an experience unique to this area. Many are challenging, requiring you to manage paddling in currents and rough conditions. Some are overnight trips, and will lead you to camp at some of our beautiful marine parks

Day Trips

Chuckanut Bay (Route)

Launch from Larrabee State Park boat launch in Wildcat Cove, paddle north into Chuckanut Bay. Points of interest include a small paddle-through in the south east corner, a white sand beach in the north east corner, and fossilized palm trees along the eastern shore of the bay on Clark’s Point. Alternatively, you can launch from Marine Park in Bellingham.

Washington Park to Friday Harbor (Route)

Launch from Washington Park Boat Ramp, paddle around the south end of Lopez island, through Cattle Pass, and land in Friday Harbor to catch a ferry back to Anacortes. Look for days with morning ebb currents and afternoon flood to get a current boost on most of this trip. Must be completed in a day.

Burrows & Allen Islands (Route)

Launch from Washington Park Boat Ramp or from Deception Pass State Park. Circumnavigate the islands by any route, such as a figure 8 of both islands. Can be done as an overnight trip.

West Shore of Whidbey Island (Route)

Paddle from Deception Pass (West Beach is a good launch point) to Keystone Harbor (part of Fort Casey). The trip can be done in reverse and can be done as an overnight.

Overnight Trips

Lummi Island Circumnavigation (Route)

Circumnavigate Lummi Island in a day or overnight. Optionally camp at the Lummi island marine trail site or on Clark Island. It can be done as part of a larger trip provided you make it a figure 8 and paddle most of the Lummi shore.

Doe Island (Route)

Launch from Washington Park boat ramp to catch an afternoon flood up to Doe Island. Overnight there then catch the morning ebb back to Washington Park. Optionally add overnight on Cypress island or Turn Island (Two Island Classic).

Orcas Island Circumnavigation (Route)

Circumnavigate Orcas Island, returning to your launch site. Launch may be on the mainland (Lummi or Anacortes) or from someplace in the islands. This can be done as a larger trip, including circumnavigation of San Juan or Lopez, but not all three islands together.  

San Juan Island Circumnavigation (Route)

Circumnavigate San Juan island, returning to your launch site. Launch may be on the mainland (Lummi or Anacortes) or from someplace in the islands. This can be done as a larger trip, including circumnavigation of Orcas or Lopez, but not all three islands together. 

HOW TO OBTAIN 

Complete all the trips in this award badge.  Each paddle must be done as a Mountaineers trip and follow the specific routes described.  All past Mountaineers trips are accepted.  The route may be included as part of a longer paddle, provided the essential portions of the award route is included.  

There are two necessary steps:  documenting your paddles and alerting the Seattle sea kayaking committee of your request.

Report your completion of the trips by filling out this form. To complete the form, you will need:

• A link to your Mountaineers profile
• The date of each qualifying trip.
• If the trip does not appear in your history, please also include the trip leader’s name and a brief description of the route.

Finally alert the current Seattle Sea Kayaking committee chair, who’s contact information can be found on the committee web page.

CONTACT 

Contact the current chair of the Seattle Sea Kayaking Committee.