PADDLING FROM ALBERT HEAD TO WITTY’S LAGOON

Paddling from Albert Head to Sitting Lady Falls in Witty’s Lagoon is a true West Coast Adventure!

If you’re looking for something a little different on your aquatic adventures, whether by kayak, canoe or SUP, a paddling trip from Albert Head to Witty’s Lagoon may just be the thing. It is not long, only about 3.75nm (7.3 km) each way, but it encompasses some of the best elements of exposed west coast paddling as you cruise around the rocky headlands of Albert Head followed by the serenity and peacefulness of paddling in the calm sheltered waters of Witty’s Lagoon.

In the lagoon you are surrounded by nature, the estuary flats, the salt marsh, beautiful forests with huge Douglas firs, big-leaf maples, Garry oaks, and the unmistakable and spectacular orange-barked arbutus trees. You will see a variety of bird life and at the very end of the paddle…a spectacular waterfall plunging 30 metres (100 ft) over dark volcanic rock into the lagoon below!

Witty’s Lagoon Regional Park

Depending on the day you decide to paddle, the views along this route are amazing. To the east you can see all the way back to Victoria. On your right, Albert Head is a beautiful forested peninsula with a dark rocky shoreline. To top it off the snow capped mountains of the Olympic Peninsula provide a stunning backdrop to the scene! But that’s not all, once  you’ve arounded Albert Head and are heading for the lagoon you will come upon the magical sandy expanse of the Witty’s Lagoon beach!

You could easily stop here and spend the rest of the day  enjoying the stunning views across Juan de Fuca Strait at the Olympic Peninsula. You will also see the Haystock Islands, William Head and on clear days, the majestic light house at Race Rocks in the distance. Check out our post Kayaking to Race Rocks.

Kayakers off the beach at Witty’s Lagoon – with stunning views of Race Rocks & the Olympic Peninsula

Before You Go

Checking the weather and the tides is essential for this trip. If the winds are blowing or forecast to come up, there may be large waves rolling onto the beach at Albert Head making the launch difficult or dangerous. The beach drops off quickly so the waves will build steeply and dump powerfully onto the beach. As well, the paddle around the very exposed, steep rocky shoreline of Albert Head will be challenging. And finally, the approaches to the beach at Witty’s Lagoon are very shallow so you can expect surf conditions here in the right conditions.

Checking the Weather

For weather forecasts I like using the Environment Canada Marine Weather forecast for the Pacific South Coast. Use the Juan de Fuca – east entrance forecast. You can also use phone apps like Windfinder.

Secondly, if your goal is to reach Sitting Lady Falls at the end of Witty’s Lagoon, you are definitely going to have to plan your trip to coincide with high tides, or you will not be able to paddle into the lagoon.

Checking the Tides

You can use the Canadian Tide & Current Tables found at this link. Use the Victoria tide tables beginning on page 26 or the graphs beginning on page 30. You can fine tune the prediction using Pedder Bay on the Secondary Ports on page 95, but the differences are very close to Victoria’s, so for paddle craft purposes you really don’t need to. You can also use a phone app like Ayetides to predict the tides.

Albert Head Lagoon Regional Park

Albert Head Lagoon is a 7 hectare regional park which serves as a wildlife sanctuary and refuge for a variety of birds, especially during the winter months. A long sand and cobble beach forms the outer barrier to the lagoon. There is a good parking area at the lagoon, but it is not huge.

Albert Head & the Olympic Peninsula

The Launch

The launch at Albert Head is off a sandy beach, but the upper beach is covered in driftwood logs, so be prepared to negotiate that with your paddle craft. You can head straight across the bay out to Albert Head, or follow the shoreline.

Albert Head as you leave the beach

Albert Head

Albert Head is entirely Department of National Defense property. As you paddle along you will see numerous DND ‘No Trespassing’ signs posted all along the coast, so don’t plan on landing anywhere along here. If weather conditions are good, it is an interesting paddle around the headland with the opportunity to paddle through some narrow rocky passages.

DND ‘No Trespassing’ sign on Albert Head

Narrow passages at the end of Albert Head

Tower Point and the approach to Witty’s Lagoon

Once around Albert Head you can continue following the shoreline into the bay on the right side of Tower Point or cut straight across to Tower Point or the Haystock Islets (that’s not a typo, it is how they are listed on the nautical charts). The shoreline in the cove is interesting with a couple of small islands, but there are a number of houses right on the shore here.

Continue around Tower Point, which is part of Witty’s Lagoon Regional Park. You will see the Haystock Islets on your left as you come around Tower Point.  You will see right away how they got their name. Two of the rocky islets look distinctly like large stacks of hay. If you paddle out to them you will likely find some harbour seals resting on the rocks or swimming around the waters. It is also common to see sea lions swimming around here.

The Haystock Islets

Continuing around Tower Point towards the beach and you will soon see the lagoon’s entrance along the right hand shore.

Witty’s Lagoon

Witty’s Lagoon Regional Park  is a 58 hectare (44 acres) gem located in Metchosin. It has more than 5 km (3.1 mi) of hiking trails and is well worth exploring out of the boat. The park encompasses woodlands, some old farm fields, Bilston Creek, the lagoon and salt marsh, and a huge sandy beach.

The entrance/exit to the lagoon is a narrow opening on the right hand side of the beach. You will see it after rounding Tower Point. There is usually some current flowing in or out of the lagoon. The amount will depend on the height of the tides and the timing.

The entrance/exit to Witty’s Lagoon

As previously mentioned, if the tides are too low, you will not be able to enter the lagoon. It is not just that the entrance will be impassible, but the waters in the lagoon are also very shallow so carrying over the beach berm isn’t an option. As well, at very low tides large sand flats become exposed in front of the beach. I paddled there with tide levels around 2.5m (8.2 ft) and while still shallow, there was enough water under the hull. Much lower than this though and passage will be difficult.

Witty’s Lagoon at low tide

You will have to be careful to watch the water depth as you paddle through the lagoon as it varies depending on where you are. With a 2.5m and above tide level you can pretty well paddle anywhere. However, if it is much shallower and you will have to pick you route carefully to try and stay in the deeper channels.

A canoe on the shore of Witty’s Lagoon just past the entrance – notice how shallow the water is

This is a sensitive ecological reserve, so you should be extra careful when paddling here to disturb the bottom as little as possible.

Continuing to the end of the main part of the lagoon you will make a right hand turn.  Here you will get your first glimpse of the falls. Continue on and you can paddle right up into the pool below Sitting Lady Falls. The best time of year to see these falls is during the winter months when the water flow is high. During the summer months the falls are reduced to a trickle.

Beautiful forested slopes surround the lagoon as you approach the turn towards the falls

Sitting Lady Falls

Warning: If the water levels in Bilston Creek are very high, a lot of water will be coming over the falls. Be aware of strong currents in the pool below the falls. They can easily capsize an inexperienced or unwary paddler!

Sitting Lady Falls after a period of heavy rainfall

The Return Trip

You can follow whatever route back to the beach at Albert Head Lagoon you like. If you followed the shoreline on the way in, you may choose to take the shortest straight back across the bay to Albert Head.

As always when paddling, be aware of changing conditions. A slight change in wind speed or direction, or a change in the direction of the current can dramatically change conditions on the water on your return trip.

Happy Paddling!

Getting There