SAN JUAN, Wash. — “It is a magic place,” said Julie Aldcroft who had just arrived on Sucia Island in the San Juans by boat.
"You're really in touch with nature when you're here,” said Steve Crosby, the state park ranger who is this island’s only resident for half of every year.
Even folks who live in the San Juan Islands say this island's special.
"I asked somebody who grew up around the islands what was his favorite island and he said, 'Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Sucia.' And I think it's probably ours now too,” Aldcroft said.
Sucia Island is the crown jewel of Washington State Marine Parks with its bays, beaches and natural beauty. And it's Crosby's job to help take care of it all.
"I'm the resident park ranger here Monday through Thursday,” Crosby said.
In the 50s, half of this island was a state park, and the other half was slated to become vacation homes. Then in 1960, yacht clubs from all over Washington state came together to stop the development.
"And they did a fundraising drive and they raised the magnificent sum of $25,000 and they bought the entire rest of the island,” Crosby said.
Today this place is priceless, and it belongs to us all. The whole island is a state park.
Visitors hike to sandstone caves once used by smugglers to hide contraband and explore Fossil Bay where Washington's only dinosaur bone was discovered in 2012.
"They named it now and it's called the Suciasaurus,” Crosby said.
Mooring buoys, anchoring spots and docks make Sucia a bucket-list place for boaters. No state ferries come here, but you’ll see visitors arriving on everything from mega yachts to kayaks on any given day.
And if your boat's not big enough to sleep aboard? You're still in luck.
"There are some magnificent camping sites, our campsites are all waterfront,” said Crosby. Site 44 is his favorite. And it has a pretty good view for $15 a night.
Sucia Island is an excellent excuse to take either up boating or make friends with somebody who has a boat.
"It's magnificent. It's worth the trip. Every Washingtonian should figure out a way to get here,” Crosby said.
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