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Washington · Whidbey Island / Useless Bay · Island County · Freeland, Whidbey Island — about 2 miles south of the beach; park address 6325 Double Bluff Rd, Freeland WA 98249

Double Bluff

also known as Double Bluff Beach, DB, Double Bluff State Park

advanced onlylow crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Nearby Jetty Island 22 km · Richmond Beach 26 km · Golden Gardens 33 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJan, Feb, Mar, Oct, Nov, Decthe months riders and schools name How windyunder Typical strength, belowsynoptic Launchhugeaccess rules on record, below Watermixed10°C in summer · 14 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools1named at this spot From the airport100 minSeattle-Tacoma International (SEA)

When it fills in

No daily fill-in hour. The wind here comes with a front, so it can start at any time of day or blow through the night, and it fades when the system moves on. Sessions get timed off the tide table rather than off the clock.

Double Bluff runs two miles along the south shore of Whidbey Island, under bluffs that reach 300 feet. The tide does most of the work: between high and low water the shoreline can move more than 2,500 feet, and at low water the bay becomes a shallow, firm sandflat you can stand on a long way from shore.

It is a winter spot. Southerly and southwesterly fronts from October through March bring the wind onshore to side-onshore, sometimes far past 30 knots, and in a big one the same beach that was slick and flat throws up head-high swell. Any west in the direction and it is off.

At high tide the beach narrows to a driftwood-strewn strip, so sessions get planned around the tide table rather than the clock. Getting here means the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry.

The wind

Direction

cross-onS to SW

Character

synoptic

fills in: No daily fill-in hour. The wind here comes with a front, so it can start at any time of day or blow through the night, and it fades when the system moves on. Sessions get timed off the tide table rather than off the clock.

Typical strength

Frequently in the 20s, and it can blow well past 30 in a strong front. The days under 30 are the ones riders pick.

Frontal wind, so it arrives with the weather rather than on a schedule: squally and uneven while a front crosses, more consistent once the gradient settles behind it. Long known as a high-wind, big-swell venue for windsurfing, which tells you what the top end looks like.

October through March is the working season. The southerlies fade out through spring, and the beach goes quiet in summer. Early spring fronts still deliver.

Thermal or synoptic

frontal

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

S to SW, with SE and SSE also working; anything with west in it is unrideable

Forecast

Month by month

Jan, riders' month61
Feb, riders' month52
Mar, riders' month46
Apr68
May54
Jun53
Jul46
Aug35
Sep37
Oct, riders' month51
Nov, riders' month51
Dec, riders' month63

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Oct, Nov, Dec.

14Jan
13Feb
12Mar
13Apr
12May
12Jun
11Jul
10Aug
10Sep
12Oct
14Nov
14Dec

avg knots per month · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air
Jan	61%	13.7 kt	SSE	5.6°C
Feb	52%	12.6 kt	SSE	5.6°C
Mar	46%	12 kt	SSE	7°C
Apr	68%	13.2 kt	SSE	8.3°C
May	54%	12.1 kt	NW	11.6°C
Jun	53%	11.7 kt	NW	13.9°C
Jul	46%	11.1 kt	NW	16.7°C
Aug	35%	10.1 kt	NW	17.3°C
Sep	37%	10.3 kt	NW	14.9°C
Oct	51%	11.8 kt	SSE	11.6°C
Nov	51%	13.5 kt	SSE	7.3°C
Dec	63%	14.2 kt	SSE	6.3°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Yes at low water. The tideflats are shallow enough to stand a long way out, which is why newer riders on the island use it; it gets deep quickly as the tide fills.

Tides

Very large range: the horizontal distance between the high and low tide lines can exceed 2,500 feet. Low tide is the usual choice and opens a firm sand flat; mid to higher tides give deeper water and, in a strong southerly, swell pushing into the beach.

Temperature

Summer About 10 in late spring, rising into the high teens over the sun-warmed sandflats by August

Winter 8°C

Wetsuit

A 4/3 in late spring; shorty or boardshorts get used from June to August. The main wind season is winter, and the thickness people actually wear then is unconfirmed.

Currents

Tidal flow matters on the ebb. When a strong outgoing tide runs against the southerly, the wind-over-current sets the flats lumpy and pushes up waves where the same beach was slick an hour earlier. On the flood, or near slack, the same wind gives a flatter ride.

Shallow, sandy and slick at low water, choppier and deeper as the tide comes in. Rocks, stones and shells sit in the shallows and driftwood piles along the high-tide line.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

Onshore to side-onshore wind, a frontal top end and a tide that fills fast make it intermediate-and-up in most conditions. On a low tide with a moderate southerly the flats are shallow enough to touch bottom, and that is the version of the spot island learners get sent to.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterswellwinter sessionsflat water at low tidefreeride

An island beach used by dog walkers, clammers and families, busiest in summer when there is no wind. The kite crowd is small and turns up when a front lands; the whole Seattle-to-Bellingham region counts only a few hundred committed riders.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

1 school names this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Jetty Island, 22 km

Jetty Island Richmond Beach Golden Gardens

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

No lifeguard and no rescue service. The prevailing southerly blows onto the beach, so a swim in is with the wind rather than against it, but in winter you are often the only one there. Emergencies go through 911, and help comes from the island, not from the beach.

Launch

The launch is a sand spit at the beach. At low tide there is an enormous expanse of firm sand and the setup is simple and safe. At high tide the usable beach shrinks to a strip littered with driftwood, and people move back to the grass behind.The county park has parking, toilets and freshwater showers, though the showers are shut through the winter months.

Space

huge

Rules & access

2026: dogs must be leashed in the developed part of the park; the off-leash area starts roughly 500 feet west of the parking lot and is marked by a windsock on a flagpole, with a $500 fine for the leash law up to that line. No kite-specific restriction is recorded for the beach.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Read the tide table before the wind forecast. The beach and the water are different places at each end of the cycle.
A westerly component kills it. Check the direction, not just the strength.
The off-leash dog area starts about 500 feet west of the parking lot, so expect loose dogs around your lines down that end.
Freshwater showers at the park are turned off in winter, which is exactly when the wind blows.
Budget for the ferry queue on the way home as well as the way out.
Winter water sits around 8 C. Pick the rubber for the season you are actually riding, not for the August number people quote.
A southerly against a strong ebb turns the flats lumpy; the same wind on the flood or near slack is the smoother session.

Getting there

Airport

Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA); Everett Paine Field (PAE) is closer to the ferry

Route

Drive north out of Seattle to Mukilteo and take the ferry to Clinton, a 20-minute crossing with no vehicle reservations and the busiest vehicle route in the state ferry system, so the queue is the real variable. From Clinton it is about 23 km and 25 minutes to the beach.Driving time from SEA is roughly 100 minutes plus whatever the ferry line costs you.

Transfer

100 min

No-wind days

Tidepooling and beachcombing across the flats at low water, birdwatching, licensed clamming. The bluff itself exposes the Whidbey Formation, and mammoth remains have eroded out of its face.

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Double Bluff?

Best months are October through March, the Puget Sound winter frontal season.

Is Double Bluff suitable for beginners?

No, this record marks it as not beginner-friendly, better suited to intermediate and advanced riders.

What wind direction works at Double Bluff?

S to SE wind is favored; a westerly component should be avoided.

What is the water and launch like at Double Bluff?

Low tide is key, exposing a large sandy beach with flat, slick sections; at high tide the beach becomes limited and littered with logs and debris.

Last updated: August 2026