Destination: Parks Bay, Shaw Island, San Juan Islands

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Shaw Island
Excerpt from Chart 18421

Just a short trip, across San Juan Channel from Friday Harbor, lies lovely Parks Bay.  Parks bay is a delightful, close little cove, with room for perhaps a dozen boats or so.

Parks Bay
Depths in fathoms

Anchoring is good here on a mud bottom, especially so in the back. The little bights in the very back are full of pilings tho, which are only just visible, still submerged at low tide.  You should anchor there only after careful exploration with a dinghy.  The last time we were there (summer 2009), there were some escaped dock segments tied to some of the pilings, making wonderful places for small boats to tie up, and more importantly, clearly marking the pilings.

The heavily forested shoreline is all owned by the University of Washington and is marked No Trespassing.  There are no houses, but there is a UW pier and small shed in the very back of the bay.  It is apparently connected to the road system on Shaw Island, since we have seen a pickup truck parked there infrequently.

There was no (ATT) cell phone coverage and no internet available in Parks Bay when last we were there.  This is not surprising, given the high ridge of land carving the bay out of San Juan Channel, and the unoccupied shoreline.  On the forested shoreline you are almost guaranteed to see deer in the mornings and evenings.  Parks Bay is a little bit of quiet, disconnected, peaceful idyllic heaven.

Destination: Parks Bay, Shaw Island, San Juan Islands