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Sea Kayak - Maury Island Circumnavigation

A rainy winter paddle with mild temperatures and light to moderate winds.

Will Greenough Will Greenough
February 09, 2026
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • The forecast of moderate (10-13kt) wind with stronger (25-30kt) gusts did not materialize. We did have moderate (5-10kt) winds from the south as we paddled out of Quartermaster Harbor before we rounded the southern tip of Maury Island. Conditions were relatively flat with only very light wind on the crossings to and from Maury Island from Des Moines.

    The normal stair access to the beach at Des Moines Beach Park was fenced off, so we had to carry boats north over the bridge to the small access there.

    Parking cost $10 for the day. Bathrooms are a bit of a walk into the marina parking lot.

    We reached the portage at 10:25 with a tide level of just under 10'. The beach on the Quartermaster Harbor side was jammed with floating logs. We found a spot at the north end of the beach where the logs were less thick for our launch.

    Screenshot 2026-02-09 083414.jpg

Leading up to the trip, the weather forecast deteriorated significantly, showing moderate winds with strong gusts and significant rain throughout the day. As a result, I upgraded the rating to SK-IV due to the long, exposed crossing with significant fetch and no good bail out option once on the island.

After checking for marine traffic, we launched in light rain and light wind and made the crossing to Point Robinson in relatively calm conditions. Continuing along the north shore, we arrived at the portage at 10:25 and performed the portage with wheels in about 20 minutes. We didn't take time for a snack here as it was rainy and a little windy.

IMG_1729.JPEG
finding a launch spot through the floating logs


Launching through the logs, we paddled south to Jenson Point. We stopped here out of the wind and decided to do an early lunch. We kept lunch short - about 20 minutes - and got back on the water paddling south out of Quartermaster Harbor and into the moderate wind. We encountered choppy and confused (fun) waves as we rounded the southern end of the island, but the wind become light and remained so for the rest of the day. Paddling up the east shore of the island, we stopped at the Maury Island Natural Area just past the old mining conveyor tower and then continued to Point Robinson. We took another short break at the point, checking again for marine traffic before we made the crossing back to Des Moines.

We arrived back at the launch at 3:10pm, just before low tide. At this water level (2.5') we had a long walk using wheels over the gravel and across the bridge back to the cars. A couple of paddlers walked their boats up the creek instead of using wheels, but this was not any easier.

Total distance: 16.4nm
Average moving speed: 3.2kt
Actual trip rating for conditions: SK-III (due to length of crossing)