Ewing Cove

Sucia Island's Ewing cove is located at the northeast corner of the island next to Echo Bay and is one the most interesting places to tie up on Sucia.    There are 4 mooring buoys, campsites, pit toilet, picnic tables, beautiful surroundings and a great view of Matia Island, just 1.5 miles to the east.

Entering Ewing Cove consult your charts and pay attention to the rocks and currents.   I chose to enter from the largest inlet near the artificial reef but I noticed other people (probably with no charts) going here and there with reckless abandon.   This might be okay at high tide but during my visit to Ewing Cove there were some of the lowest tides of the year and I noticed a bank of rocks while exploring in my dingy that didn't seem to be listed on my chart.

Reach The Beach

When you tie up at a mooring buoy in Ewing Cove the park service asks that you go ashore and register within 30 minutes.  There aren't any park rangers hiding in the bushes with a stopwatch but  I like to do it immediately just to stretch my legs and I'm always anxious to do some exploring.        The fee for using a mooring buoy is $ 10.00 per night (2005),  with a 3-night maximum stay per visit.   You can anchor for free but I wouldn't recommend anchoring here because the currents and wave action at night are beyond my comfort level.   Grab a buoy or if they are all taken you should instead anchor in Echo Bay and then either hike the nature trail or dingy over to visit Ewing cove.   

Swirling Currents

Approaching the beach by dingy you pass a small opening into the Sound looking north where you can see the towers of Vancouver on a clear day but I'm mentioning it because of the strong current flowing either in or out, depending on the tide.   Sucia is like a stepping stone in the middle of a running stream.      This is an amusing feature because the water swirls around with an occaitional whirlpool and gets a little choppy directly in front of the opening.  There are also numerous seals that were hanging out and playing in the swirling waters, but if you have small children that you let tool around in your dingy you'll want to warn them away from it and maybe kiss them goodbye before you send them on their way. 

The approach to the beach has some eel grass at low tide but it was never a problem and the beach was mostly made up of smooth, small pebbles so I was able to gently beach my inflatable dingy and step right out.

Camping Restrictions

Campsites at Ewing cove are restricted to 4 people and immediate family only.  NO GROUP CAMPING IS ALLOWED.   If you have all the comforts of home aboard your boat you might not care about any restrictions on camping,  but I couldn't help but wonder about someone visiting the island with their girlfriend or fishing buddies that might want to camp here---   They just can't.       Perhaps this is an attempt to keep noise levels down for the local population of bald eagles and other wildlife but all the squawking, honking, and chirping that goes on here would drown out any group of people on a campout.

Protect Your Pets

During a recent there appeared to be 3-4 Bald Eagles nesting around Ewing cove, soaring, swooping, and doing what eagles do.    They didn't seem at all bothered by the boats and  people visiting their beautiful cove, however there were some black birds hassling one eagle most of the day until he finally had enough and went soaring.     If you aren't used to seeing bald eagles you might be surprised by just how big they are,  with an amazing wingspan.       If you brought along any small pets you don't want to leave them unattended on deck because an eagle could swoop them up and carry them off to their treetop for dinner.     The same thing goes for newborn babies and toddlers.

Hiking Trails

Once ashore you can hike the trails that link up all the major coves and anchorages on Sucia Island or you can stake out a picnic table and enjoy the surroundings.     You might want to bring along some bug spray if you plan to do any hiking or stay ashore any extended period of time.  Sucia Island is a lush and natural paradise with dense foliage so it has its share of mosquitoes (in marshy areas of the island), flying insects and things that just sit there and buzz,  although  I didn't seem to be bothered while hanging out on my boat. 

Watch For Rocks

On one side of Ewing cove there's a grouping of rocks that opens up to Echo bay where you can take your dingy through but I wouldn't recommend you try it with a larger boat.  You can see the bottom is very shallow and you wouldn't want to ding a prop.

These small rocks or islands are the nesting area for numerous birds, including some Canadian geese that put on quite a show as you pass through and seem to be saying.   "There's no way you're going to land here.. Don't even think about it!"

Seals Galore

If you enjoy seal watching you can venture out of the cove to the north where there's a reef that appears at low tide and gets covered with seals.     This is one of the biggest attractions to Ewing cove for some people and at one time the Lummi Indians used to come here to kill seals.   During my visit it was a little too choppy with swells so I decided not to go too far out, but  I'd seen plenty of seals swimming around the cove all morning so I didn't feel like I missed out on anything.

If you're going to tie up at a buoy and have a larger boat or yacht you will want to choose a buoy furthest from the beach to give you more room.  I was on the first buoy and did fine but the boat would swing surprisingly close to the rocks.  .

There are many reasons to like Ewing cove but I think what I like most is that there's so much to see while just relaxing on the back of your boat.  The bald eagles, seals, and swirling waters always seem to be putting on a show,  and there's a great view of Matia and an occaitional motor yacht or sailboat passing by, out in the Sound. 

If you visit Ewing cove...  Make sure you consult your charts and watch out for rocks at the entrance to Ewing Cove.