Sares Head

Recommended type of dive: Shore, Boat and Kayak

How to dive this site: As there are no safe places to anchor a boat, the use of a live boat is recommended. It may be possible to beach an infatable or kayak in one of the small gravel beaches between the steep cliffs. If you do leave your vessel unattended, make sure you are diving here at slack or plan your dive to be able to return to your starting point safely. The use of a drift bouy or tethered kayak works well here since the sheer cliffs provide little obstruction to get tangled in. Before entering the water, make sure to check the direction of the current. An ebb current seems to head south to west depending on where you are. A flood current breaks on the head in two directions to the east and northwest. Looking at the kelp and letting the boat drift are good ways to check the water's direction. For best results dive here at slack. The best section to dive is the wall directly below the highest point of Sares Head.

Directions to the site: GPS Coordinates: N48 25.440 W 122 40.491.

As a boat dive - From Oak Harbor: Take SR20 North. Turn right onto Cornet Bay Road and follow it to the public boat ramp, just past the park ranger station. Launch your vessel and head west through Deception Pass. Once through, stay to the right and go around Lighthouse Point. Continue north past Rosario Head. The sheer cliffs north of Northwest Island is Sares Head. From Anacortes - Take SR20 South over Deception Pass Bridge. Turn left onto New Cornet Bay Road which merges into Cornet Bay Road. Continue past the park ranger station to the public boat ramp and follow the directions above.

As a kayak dive - Kayak launch is best done from the public boat ramp at Bowman Bay. Turn onto Rosario Road off of SR20 next to Pass Lake on Fidalgo Island. Once on Rosario, the entrance to Bowman Bay is immediately to the left.