Primitive campsites directly above beach on high point to the right of landing on south shore. Scenic views. Eagles, sea otters, seals
Vessel Access:
all boaters need to watch afternoon day breeze, especially from south. small boats can be carried ashore, skiffs or bigger boats may need to be anchored away from the beach.
Access Difficulty:
The day breeze blowing up the bay can create a pounding surf. The east side of the island has a protected cove but often goes dry.
Hazards:
Afternoon day breeze can create large waves
Lots of bear sign in early spring and summer.
Photos
7 Comments
Dave Brann
Hal Shepherd Launched at Kilcher Beach and paddled up North Shore to Eastland Park B&B. Stayed over night in cabin there. Then got up at 4:30am to catch high tide to cross over to Chugachik Island. Got caught in the -5.1 tide on the way over and pulled about 2 miles of course so we had an extra 1 & 15 minutes of paddling to back track to the Island. Got to the Island in late morning and set-up camp. Island could use some tender-loving-care as it is over-grown with weeds. The next day paddled up to Battle Creek from the Island and then back. Tides were so high that when we arrived at the mouth of the Creek at high tide near the Bradly Lake hydro plant, everything was under water including the Bradly Lake Trail. A lot of activity on the Bradly Lake road due to construction of the diversion dam on the Creek. Very shallow most of the way so we had to time the tides just right so we wouldn't get stranded. On Sunday we took the water taxi back to the spit.
Hal Shepherd
8/17/18: Paddle Trip To Chugachik 4:30 - 5:45pm: Launched at Kilcher Beach and Paddled up to Cottonwood Campground. No wind and calm seas. Saw set netters camped at Cottonwood. 5:45 - 6:30pm: Paddled from Cottonwood to Eastland Creek. Right passed point on CC, 1 foot swells coming from South came up. 6:30 - 7:00pm: Stopped at Eastland Creek to wait for swells to calm before crossing over to Chugachik. Saw set netters camped there and spoke briefly with them. Texted party on Chugachik with update who responded that it was calm there and as far as they could see. 7:00 - 8:20pm: Launched from Eastland Creek and paddled east until Start Park boundary and then crossed over to Island. Seas calmed down to about 6 inch swells and no wind. About 1/3 of the way across seas calmed to no swells and paddling was very pleasant. 8:20 - 10:30pm: Unloaded gear, had dinner and watched beautiful sunset over Bay and Chugachik Cove. 8/18/18: Chugachik/Bear Cove Paddle 10:30 - 12:00pm: After high tide, paddled east of Island along shoreline for about quarter mile and then turned back to circumvent Island and came back to camp ground around noon. As soon as we landed the day breeze came up and water started getting rough; 12:00 - 3:30pm: Lunch, nap and fishing to wait out day breeze 3:45 - 7:00pm: Day breeze and water calmed so we paddled over to explore Bear Cove. 8/19/18: Water Taxi Return 9:00 - 9:30: Hiked China trail. 10:00 - 11:30am: Breeze and swells were already up making paddle back to Kilcher beach marginal so, took water taxi back to Spit.
Hal Shephard
“Kayaked from Kilcher Beach to Chugachik Island and returned on Trails Day weekend (June 3-4). Seas were relatively calm in the morning but wind and swells picked up in the afternoons so I was glad to be on the Island helping with trail maintenance by then. Crossing the Bay from Eastland Creek - the views of the Island back-dropped by the Kenai Mountain Range were stunning. What a great trip!”
Lisa Holzapfel
August 18-19 Chugachik Island to Aurora Lagoon We were watching tide and the tide book carefully. Time after time, the tide book was correct with its four minute correction to the Seldovia tide chart. We decided to go with the tide book.
Lisa Holzapfel
August 18,2014 The wildlife view was really special. Aside from all the otter activity, we had young eagles hollering at parents, a Peregrin Falcon diving on black-legged kittiwakes. Steller's jays, Fox sparrows, Song sparrows, Red poles, common and red throated loons, gulls, mergansers, yellowlegs, crows, ravens, kingfishers, Pigeon Guillemots, Marbled murrelets, surf scoters, a common eider and harbor seals.
Dave Brann
New latrine just installed 2 weeks ago, fire ring in place Beware, a strong day breeze or persistent winds can keep you land bound for 2-3 days. The small cove on the east side of the island offers some protection.
Dave Brann
The end of September and the first two weeks of October is a great time to visit this site to catch the fall colors.