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HARVEST PROFILE:
This beach is a very popular place to dig for geoducks.
A tide lower than -2.0 feet is best for geoducks. Look for areas of sand and small gravel and avoid the cobble and hardpan portions of the beach.
The north end of the island is the least productive. The best spots are near the middle of the island on the west side and at the extreme south end.
There have been plants of hatchery-reared geoducks at the south end of the island. There are also geoducks on the west side of Hope Island, but they are not as abundant as on
the south end and west side. There are also abundant rough piddocks on Hope Island. They are easy to confuse with geoducks.
The piddock's siphon (neck) is split and the geoduck's siphon is single. Piddocks prefer clay and hardpan substrate and are extremely hard to dig.
There are patches of large native littleneck clams
on Hope Island. They can be found in areas of sand and gravel near the middle of the island on both the west and
east sides. Manila clams are not abundant on Hope Island, but
there is one good spot on the extreme south end of the island in patches of sand and gravel substrate.
There are butter clams on this beach. They can
be found in the mid-lower intertidal zone in the sand and gravel and cobble substrate.
Horse clams are present in fair numbers in the lower intertidal zone in sand and gravel.
This beach has been planted with oysters
in the past and there may still be good numbers available. Most of the oyster resource is on the
west side of the island near the south end.
DIRECTIONS TO SITE: Hope Island State Park is located in south Puget Sound between Steamboat and Squaxin Islands. It is accessible by boat only. Nearest boat ramps: Arcadia ramp, located about 8 miles east of Shelton via Arcadia Road, is about 0.7 miles by boat to the middle of the west side of Hope Island. Boston Harbor, located about eight miles north of Olympia via Boston Harbor Road, is about 3 miles by boat from Hope Island.
FACILITIES:
There are pit toilets, camping, picnic tables, moorage buoys, and trails. There is no water on the island and open fires are not allowed.
FUN FACTS:
This is a popular beach with kayakers, and is part of the Cascadia Marine Trail. This saltwater
trail stretches over 140 miles from the Canadian border to Southern Puget Sound near Olympia.
Click here for aerial photos of the beach and surrounding area.
(Note: beach boundaries not shown)
To return to the Beach Map Page, click on Shellfish Regulations at the top of this page.
Click on the WDFW logo to return to the WDFW Homepage.
Please check the Fishing and Shellfishing Regulations for latest information on closures or emergency updates.