Placeholder Routes & Places

Trip Report    

Sea Kayak - Golden Gardens

A tour of West Point and Magnolia Bluff from Golden Gardens beach

  • Road suitable for all vehicles
  • Boat traffic along Shilshole Marina and in Shilshole Bay was minimal.

We launched from the sandy beach at Golden Gardens where on a late fall weekend there was plenty of available parking.  The Olympics were out, peeking above patchy clouds in partial morning sunlight.  There are panoramic views along this route, and our early morning views of the Olympics were a bonus, until increased cloud cover eventually obscured the distant peaks.  A 12’ high tide was predicted for late morning, shortly before noon, along with a mild ebb (.4 kts. max ebb around the same time as high tide).  Winds were light from the South.  At high tide, there was ample beach space for landing at West Point, but the group was motivated to not stop and to continue further south along our route.  There is little room for landing at an 11-12’ tide level both south and north of West Point, but the shore at 4 Mile Rock provided an exposed, sandy area for a pleasant  lunch spot.  This was our turn around for the trip, with our total mileage, including some meandering along the shore below Magnolia Buff, slightly over 8 nm.  Bathrooms along our itinerary are limited to West Point.  There were dense trees and foliage at our lunch spot, and no development nearby, which provided privacy for bio breaks.  

In rough conditions, and high tides, it would be important to reassess this itinerary, due to the limited bailout options along much of the shoreline where the sheer bluffs are present.