Twanoh State Park

This exquisite park – with its swimming beach, its trails and its rustic Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) structures – is the prize at the end of Hood Canal. An interpretive display describes the Twana Indians as a group that “produced wealth beyond their needs,” and some of that abundance seems to have been left behind in the tall trees and brilliant rhododendrons.

Moorings and Anchorage
Twanoh State Park has seven mooring buoys set around the east side of the point. The nearby swimming area is enclosed with a string of floats. The anchorage is north and east of the mooring buoys, in 5 to 10 fathoms. The shelf is relatively narrow, so set your hook carefully or, better yet, anchor in deeper water.

The 60-foot park float is for shallow-draft vessels only; boats may go aground at low tide. Depth at the ramp is about four feet shallower than at the end of the float. There is currently no charge for the park float or buoys.

The park beach is sloping gravel. All other tidelands and docks are private.

The beautiful log shelters at Twanoh were constructed by the CCC during the 1930s and 1940s.

For the Boat and Crew
Water is available at the head of the park float. Ice can be bought at the snack concession near the swimming area during summer. Showers are in the campground across the road.

On the beach side of the road are picnic areas and barbecues, tennis courts and playground equipment. The beach itself is one of the finest and warmest saltwater swimming areas in the state, with a wading lagoon for children. Interpretive signs describe the geologic history of the canal, the Twana Indians who once roamed this area and the CCC work in the 1930s and ‘40s.

Many of the log and stone structures, with their peek-a-boo views of stream and beach through small mullioned windows, seem to have been constructed especially to spark fairy-tale imaginations.

On the south side of the road are another 150 acres of park and more, with campgrounds among the cedars and two loop trails up the wooded ridge.

Sailor, writer and teacher Migael Scherer, who divides her time between Seattle and Lopez Island, is the author of “A Cruising Guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands,” published by International Marine/McGraw-Hill. The guide can be purchased online through Armchair Sailor Books & Charts, Captain’s Nautical Supplies, Amazon and other retailers.

About Migael Scherer

Sailor, writer and teacher Migael Scherer, who divides her time between Seattle and Lopez Island, is the author of “A Cruising Guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands,” published by International Marine/McGraw-Hill. The guide can be purchased online through Armchair Sailor Books & Charts, Captain’s Nautical Supplies, Amazon and other retailers.

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