No boating vacation to the San Juan Islands is truly complete until at least 1 night has been spent at Sucia Island. Reachable only by boat, this remote and undeveloped island is located 2 ½ miles north of Orcas Island. The Island is a Washington Marine Park and is consistently ranked as one of the favorite boating destinations in the world with over 100,000 boaters annually.
Sucia Island is one of several islands making up the Sucia Group. Shaped like a horseshoe it has long finger-like peninsulas. It has 564 acres to explore and over 10 miles of trails to hike, although beware of a few that could leave you stranded on an incoming tide. Hiking up the small hill on the south side of the island gives a phenomenal view of the sound and Orcas Island. There are fossil beds, caves, and various spectacular sand formations on the island.
Sucia has 48 mooring buoys located in 6 different bays. Fossil Bay has 2 docks though these are mainly for smaller boats and can be very shallow during low tide so check your tide charts if you draw more than a few feet. Echo Bay has 14 buoys and 2 linear moorage systems that have 800 feet available. Shallow Bay is located on the west side of the island with 7 buoys but the name should give you an idea of its depth. Some boats have found this out the hard way and have had to wait for an incoming tide to be able to leave.
Throughout the years Sucia has been used as a hideout, adding to its fascinating history. During the late 1800’s it was used to smuggle Chinese laborers and opium. In the Prohibition Era, Sucia served as a place for liquor running between Canada and the U.S. In more recent years it has been used by drug smugglers.
The Puget Sound Interclub (now known as the Recreational Boating Association of Washington) helped make part of the park possible by purchasing a portion of it and donating it to Washington State in 1960. This group was founded in the 1950's with quite a few Yacht Clubs in Washington and purchasing the island was one of their first goals. The remainder of the island was purchased by the state in 1972.
During summer months the bays are often full of boaters and getting a spot on a buoy or dock can be all about timing and luck. Anchorage is available in all of the bays and the sandy bottom makes it a relatively easy place to anchor in most areas. Coming into the bays keep a close eye on your depth and watch out for all of the crab pots since most every boat seems to set at least one in the bay during crabbing season.
A wide variety of wildlife calls the area around Sucia home. Bald eagles are often visible along with seals, sea lions, porpoises, and osprey. Part of Sucia’s appeal is its untouched beauty though a few amenities including drinking water, composting toilets, and even some newly constructed shelter areas for groups are available. There is a pack it in pack it out garbage policy.
The only thing boaters disagree upon about Sucia Island is how it pronounced. The proper Spanish pronunciation is Sue-see-a while most pronounce it Sue-sha. It was named by the Spanish in the late 1700’s meaning “foul” due to all the reefs and rocks. Charts are very important when navigating around Sucia and plenty of first time visitors have left bottom paint behind.
Whether it is your first time visiting or your 50th one thing is certain, you will always wish you had at least another day at Sucia Island.
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