Sucia Island – Fox Cove and Fossil Bay

Sucia Island is the crown jewel of the San Juan Islands and of the entire marine state park system. It’s shaped like a welcoming hand—thumb to the north, fingers to the south—and has a surprising number of bays, each with its own personality. You can happily spend a week here, anchored in a different cove every night, hiking a different trail every day, eating every meal on a different beach.

Sucia Island State Park covers more than 500 acres. Hiking trails and dirt roads wander through forest, wetlands, and numerous sand and gravel beaches. The park has firepits, picnic tables and shelters, restrooms, and more than 50 campsites.

Among Sucia’s many attractions are its magical landforms. Small cobbles, dropped from the sandstone, have left behind a surface that resembles lace. Wind and wave have carved out pillars and caves.

For thousands of years these islands were Indian seal-hunting grounds. The present name was given in 1791 by the Eliza Expedition (sucia means “dirty” in Spanish), warning mariners of the island’s many rocks and shoals.

Sucia offers numerous beautiful anchorages for boaters to visit, including Fox Cove and the more protected Fossil Bay.

Fox Cove

This cove on the southwest side of Sucia is protected by Little Sucia Island, though it is somewhat exposed to southwesterlies. Sunset views are lovely here, and the sculptured sandstone on the north beach is some of the finest on the island. At high tide you can see across the low isthmus to Fossil Bay.

Moorings and Anchorage
Four mooring buoys are set in a square pattern at the head of the cove. The southwest buoy is in deepest water, the northeast buoy shallowest. There’s room to anchor west of these buoys; to the east the bay shallows rapidly. Moorage fees are changed year-round.

Getting Ashore
All shoreline around Fox Cove is state park land. Little Sucia is closed to the public from January 1 to August 15 to protect nesting areas.

With two floats and plenty of buoys, Fossil Bay is easily the most popular anchorage on Sucia. The bay takes its name from the fossils found in the surrounding bluffs. Little Hernden Island once served as a “guest book” for Sucia, with visitors scrawling the names of their boats on its rock face. The practice is now prohibited, but some of the writing is still visible.

The steep shores of Sucia Island seem to have been sculpted by the sea.

Fossil Bay

During summer, boats raft thickly, and the floats are cluttered with lawn chairs and barbecues. The west float is removed from October through April.

Moorings and Anchorage
Fossil Bay has two floats, each one about 100 feet long, one at the head and one across the entrance to Mud Bay. Depths are about the same on both sides of these floats, slightly shallower toward shore. Fifteen mooring buoys are set in two parallel lines, all in similar depths. Fees are changed year-round for use of buoys and floats.

There’s good anchorage southeast of these buoys.

All of Fossil Bay is less than 2 fathoms. Mud Bay, behind Hernden Island, dries at low tide.

Getting Ashore
All surrounding lands are state park.

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.