Young's Park - Clark Point

Looking for an enjoyable beach walk with plenty of places to snack, nap or what you will? The beach walk from Skagit County’s Young’s Park on the northern end of Guemes Island is for you. The bonus: You won’t need to consult a tide table to ensure you can walk the entire stretch.  

Young’s Park is a true postage stamp-sized park: the whole thing — parking, picnic tables, info signage, grassy area and the rest — is about the size of a small city block. That said, it’s a beautiful spot with easy parking, a port-a-potty and it's directly on the beach.

To start the hike, go directly to the beach neighboring the parking lot and start walking to the left. You’ll quickly pass Guemes Island Resort on your left. Be careful here: It’s private property and not part of the park, though the resort is immediately adjacent to the park and the beach. The beach starts as a sandy-pebbly mix, and, about halfway to Clark Point, turns to a rocky footscape. Watch your footing here. Just before the sandy to rocky transition, you’ll start to see lots of driftwood that is mostly shaded mid-day. Those logs offer lots of places to nap, enjoy a snack, doodle, journal or sleep the afternoon away.

At 0.7 mile, you’ll reach Clark Point, the northernmost part of Guemes Island. The scenery is spectacular—you can see Mount Baker, many of the San Juan Islands, sky that seems to stretch out forever and the blue of the sea.

You can extend the walk by going about another ¼ mile to a spot marked with a prominent "private property sign." Please respect this notice and do turn around here to walk back to Young’s Park.

WTA Pro Tip: If you want to appreciate Guemes Island from another perspective, consider making the walk to Clark Point part of a double-header outing by hiking up Guemes Mountain. The 2.4 miles up the mountain will take you through beautiful Pacific Northwest forest with fern-covered landscape in parts and a prairie covering the bald at the top. The views are tremendous, and there are well-placed benches to enjoy the views at numerous spots.