Local guide

Kayaking Olalla Bay

Can you kayak at the Olalla Bay house? Yes: two kayaks, one tandem and one single, plus life vests, launching straight off the private beach. Colvos Passage is an easy paddle even when it is choppy, and guests have crossed to Vashon Island and back. Watch for big boats and marine life, and expect a stronger current on the way home. Wear the vest, sign the release in the binder, and check the tide table before you go.

The bay looks good from the deck. It looks better from a kayak.

By Assaf, the Olalla Bay editor. Last updated: November 2, 2026.

The house comes with two kayaks, one tandem and one single, plus life vests, and you launch straight off the private beach. No driving to a put-in, no rental counter, no hourly rate. Walk through the gate, carry a boat to the water, and go. Most mornings the bay is flat glass, and you will have it mostly to yourself.

Launching from the house

There is a private gate from the property down to the beach, and that is your launch. The kayaks live up by the house. Before anyone gets in a boat, sign the release form in the welcome binder and put on a life vest. The house rule is simple: no vest, no kayak. It is not negotiable, and it should not be.

Where to paddle

Olalla Bay itself is the easy choice. It is sheltered, the water stays calm, and you can hug the shoreline in either direction for an hour without ever feeling far from the house. This is where you want to be if you are new to this.

If you want more, Colvos Passage runs between the Kitsap side and Vashon Island. The current in the passage usually runs north on a flooding tide, so check the tide before you commit. Ride it one way and work the eddies near shore coming back, or just stay in the bay. Nobody will think less of you. The bay is the good part.

Two more options within a short drive: Anderson Point Park, about eight minutes away, has beach access and a different stretch of shoreline. On the Vashon side, Lisabeula has a hand-carry launch if you ever want to start from across the passage.

Want a guide, or more boats?

The house has two kayaks, one tandem and one single. If you want a guided tour, a paddleboard, or just more boats for a big group, Deadmans Island Kayak + SUP in Gig Harbor rents kayaks and paddleboards and runs guided adventure tours for all skill levels, launching from area beaches. It is a local outfit run by a lifelong South Sound paddler. Call 425-765-8278 or book ahead at deadmanskayaksup.com.

Paddle further: kayak camping

Olalla sits on the Cascadia Marine Trail, a 140-mile network of kayak-camping sites around Puget Sound. The closest sites are Lisabeula on Vashon Island, directly across Colvos Passage, plus Manchester State Park and Blake Island a paddle away. Sites are first come, first served for beachable boats, so confirm a site is open before you go. This is an overnight trip, not an afternoon paddle: check the tide, bring everything, and leave no trace.

What you will see

Harbor seals. They will watch you from the rocks and slide into the water if you get close, which you should not. River otters work the shoreline in the early morning. Bald eagles are overhead most days, close to guaranteed. Porpoises roll through the passage. And sometimes, orcas. Guests have reported all of it from the deck. From a kayak you are at eye level with it.

Do not paddle toward the seals, and give orcas a wide berth if you are lucky enough to see them. Watch from a distance. They were here first.

Bioluminescent paddling (summer nights)

On dark summer nights, parts of Puget Sound glow. The glow comes from dinoflagellates, tiny saltwater algae that produce light through a chemical reaction when disturbed, so every paddle stroke and bow wake sets off blue sparks in the water. National Geographic's Greater Kitsap feature sends paddlers out to paddle through bioluminescent algae on the Kitsap Peninsula Water Trail.

The best odds run June through August, on warm, calm, moonless nights, at least two hours after sunset. Seattle's Child, in its guide to finding Pacific Northwest bioluminescence, recommends a night within a week of the new moon and calm water, since even a full moon can wash the glow out. More on when and why Puget Sound glows.

Nothing is guaranteed on a given night, and Olalla Bay is not a documented bioluminescence destination the way Port Gamble Bay is. But when the conditions line up on a summer night, house guests can launch from the private beach and try. Night paddling is a different sport from daytime: stay inside the bay, stay close to shore, bring a buddy, and let your eyes adjust to the dark. Do not paddle into Colvos Passage after dark.

To do it with a guide and all the gear provided, Olympic Outdoor Center runs a nighttime bioluminescence kayak tour in Port Gamble Bay, which it describes as a calm, protected bay with minimal light pollution, ideal for viewing.

When to go

Morning. The wind on the Sound almost always builds in the afternoon, and the bay is at its calmest before 10 or 11. Check the tide as well. The hour around the tide change, slack water, is the easiest paddling. Mid-ebb or mid-flood moves real water in the passage. If you stay in the bay you can mostly ignore all of this, but it is good to know.

Launch practicalities: tides, mud flats, and the bridge

If you are not staying at the house, the public put-in is the Kitsap County boat ramp at Olalla Bay, across from Olalla Bay Market. It is the only real Puget Sound water access between Gig Harbor and the ramp near Southworth, and small boaters can beach briefly to shop at the market.

That ramp sits on tidal water, and the tide decides when it works. At extreme low tide the tidelands at the launch turn into a large mud flat, and getting a boat on or off the water is difficult. Plan to launch and land on either side of low tide, not at the bottom of it. The lowest lows fall in daylight in late spring and summer, so a midday summer launch is the one most likely to meet the mud.

The scale is bigger than most visitors expect. Puget Sound swings 10 to 12 feet between high and low tide. Check NOAA's tide predictions for Gig Harbor, station 9446369, the closest station to Olalla, before you go, and time a Colvos Passage crossing for slack water, the hour around the tide change. NOAA's Anderson Point current station, PUG1518, publishes the predicted slack, max flood, and max ebb times for the passage.

Just past the ramp, boaters pass under the Olalla Bay bridge to reach Puget Sound. That low passage is why sailboats and any boat with a large mast cannot use this launch. A kayak passes under it and out into Colvos Passage.

One route note: Gig Harbor is about six nautical miles south, and the current in Colvos Passage generally runs northward, so the southbound paddle works against it. Most paddlers from Olalla head north, or stay in the bay and the near part of the passage.

The practical stuff

• Two kayaks, first come first served. If the house is full, take turns. An hour each is plenty.
• Life vests live with the kayaks. Wear one every time. Every time.
• Sign the release form before your first paddle. It is in the welcome binder.
• Bring sunscreen, water, and a dry bag for your phone. You will want the photos.
• Hose the sand off the boats and put everything back where you found it.
• The water is cold year round. In summer it is refreshing. In winter, wear a wetsuit or stay on shore with coffee.

Questions people ask

Do I need kayaking experience?

No. The bay is sheltered and calm, especially in the morning. If you can get in and out of the boat at the beach, you can paddle the bay.

Are the kayaks really free?

Yes. Two kayaks, one tandem and one single, plus life vests come with the house. That is the whole point.

What about kids?

Kids do great in the bay with an adult in another kayak. Everyone wears a life vest, no exceptions.

Can I bring my own kayak or paddleboard?

House guests can. The beach is private and reserved for guests of the house, so it is not open to outside visitors. If you are staying here, bring your boat and launch through the gate.

Can you see bioluminescence from a kayak in Olalla Bay?

Sometimes. On dark, calm summer nights, parts of Puget Sound glow when dinoflagellate plankton are disturbed by a paddle stroke. The best months are June through August, on moonless nights at least two hours after sunset. It is never guaranteed on a given night, and Olalla Bay is not a documented hotspot, but the water off the private beach is worth trying when the moon is right.

Where can you launch a kayak in Olalla?

The public launch is the boat ramp at Olalla Bay, by Olalla Bay Market. It is a Kitsap County boat launch and a listed Kitsap Peninsula water-trail access point, and a natural starting point for a paddle into Colvos Passage. It sits on tidal water, so plan around the tide: launching is difficult at extreme low tide.

When should you not launch a kayak at Olalla?

At extreme low tide. The tidelands at the public boat ramp turn into a large mud flat at the bottom of the tide, and launching gets difficult. Check NOAA's Gig Harbor station, 9446369, and launch on either side of low tide instead.