Woodard Bay

Trip Overview

Put in at 6:15 PM. Few clouds, 68F, winds 5-10 SW At 9 ft flood tide there is at least a boat length, 18', of gravel and hard packed mud beach with lots of room left and right of the stairs for multiple boats. Stay to left side of bay to minimize disturbance of Cormorant rookery on right bank. The aroma will remind you if you get too close. The bay runs almost 3/4 mile to Henderson Inlet. Make a left. Harbor seals haul out on platforms about a mile from the launch site. Signs are posted instructing you to avoid the seals. Paddle to the right of the pilings or stay close to shore thru the gap in the railroad trestle and you will be fine. Signs on the east side of the trestle request that watercraft not travel beneath the trestle. There is another haul out north of the trestle, also marked. Saw Bald Eagles, Mergansers, Cormorants, Herons, Buzzard. Returned at 8:30 with 14 ft flood tide. Beach was much shorter, but easy enough to land. Note as you round the corner between the trestle and land you are looking into Chapman Bay. This is a quiet, secluded spot worth the time for a trip by itself.