A snug, well-hidden pocket off Kilisut Harbor on the lee side of Marrowstone Island, where Mystery Bay State Park offers a public float and mooring buoys in protected water just a short hop from Port Townsend.
Mystery Bay is a small, shallow cove tucked midway down the west side of Marrowstone Island, off Kilisut Harbor near the village of Nordland. The 18-acre Mystery Bay State Park fronts the bay with a public dock (roughly 680 feet of moorage) plus several mooring buoys just off the float, a launch ramp, and a pump-out, making it a popular and protected stop for cruisers exploring Admiralty Inlet.
The bay sits deep inside the four-mile-long Kilisut Harbor, an inlet between Indian and Marrowstone Islands, so it is sheltered from the open chop of Port Townsend Bay and Admiralty Inlet. Much of the inner bay is a Voluntary No Anchoring Zone protecting shellfish beds, but anchoring is easy in settled weather just west of and outside the park, where the bottom is soft mud with good holding.
It is a quiet, low-key destination: state-park shore access, picnicking, crabbing, and shellfish harvesting, with the historic Nordland area about a half mile to the south.
Approach notes, hazards to watch for, and what's available once you're tied up.
The approach is the main challenge. Kilisut Harbor is entered from the north through a narrow, hook-shaped, shoaling channel that snakes past Fort Flagler State Park and must be taken with care, ideally near high tide for deeper-draft boats. The channel is marked with red and green day markers, and skippers should follow them closely rather than cutting corners.
Controlling depth in the entrance channel is shallow and subject to shoaling: cruisers report a minimum of roughly 8.5 to 9 feet near markers 12/13 on recent surveys, with older reports as low as about 5 feet, so consult current charts and a tide table. Inside the bay itself, water shoals quickly; there is only about 6.5 feet alongside the state-park dock at a zero tide, so plan arrivals and overnight stays around the tide.
Wind protection summary and tide planning at a glance. Full per-direction and 7-day detail with Plus.
Live readings from the nearest OpenWeather station and WorldTides; refreshed every few minutes.
Source: OpenWeather One Call API + WorldTides.
A curated photo + map walkthrough showing approach, mooring options, and points of interest.
A guided walkthrough of Mystery Bay with approach photos, depth notes, and points of interest — written by members who have been here recently.
Member-uploaded images of this anchorage.
Real first-hand reports and questions answered by members who have actually been here.
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