Kite spot on water · United States
West Beach
Riders have kited it in W.
- Works in
- W
- Nearest airport
- FRDFriday Harbor Airport, 33 km
Forecast and webcams
Before you go
Forecasts often disagree. When Windguru, ALADIN and Windy agree, it is worth going.
Webcams nearby
Live images from cameras within 25 km of the spot. Click to open the camera on Windy.com.
Webcams: Windy.com
Tips for this spot
- Offshore wind carries you away from land. Do not ride it without a rescue boat.
- When a storm is coming, get out of the water and land the kite at once. Gusts before a storm are violent and a kite overhead is the highest point around.
- New spot: ask locals about shallows, currents and where people launch.
On site
Wind and riding area
worksno reports
Direction the wind blows from. Based on riders' experience, not a forecast.
Pparking
From riders
What you need to know
Watch out for
- Shore pound, onshore conditions, and short wave period.community map
Where to launch
- At high tide, the launch beach disappears, but grass launches are still possible.community map
Parking
- Small parking lot right off the road at the entrance to Joseph Whidbey State Park, north of the beachfront houses.capacity: small · community map
- Car park about 200 m from the spot.OpenStreetMap
Getting there
- On the south side of Joseph Whidbey State Park, about 3 miles NW of Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island; the road from Oak Harbor leads directly to the parking lot.community map
Conditions
- Great waves in strong wind, onshore conditions, and short swell period.community map
Riders' tips
- Watch the forecast for strong westerlies in the Strait and passing cold fronts.community map
In riders' own words
- „Look for strong W straights forecast and passing cold fronts.“
- „This is definitely a place for the experienced wave sailor, especially with the onshore conditions and short swell period.“
- „Launch disappears at high tide (not exactly, you can still launch in the grass).“
- „Pull into the small parking lot right next to the road to enter the park just north of the houses along the beach.“
- „OpenStreetMap way/371981946“
- „OpenStreetMap way/685123650“
- „south side of Joseph Whidbey State Park, about 3 miles northwest of Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island.“
- „Somewhat more challenging than other wave sailing spots along the Washington and Oregon coast mainly because of the shore pound.“
- „Waves a great on high wind days.“
Photos from the area
ECTran71, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
JHetherington20, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
JHetherington20, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Wind by month
When it blows
Average wind speed 10 m above ground from NASA POWER (MERRA-2, 2001–2025). The model works on a grid of roughly 50 km; on hills and by the water the wind is often stronger and gustier.
windiest monthsaverage wind in knots, NASA POWER; below the month in m/s
Values by month
| January | 5.5 knots · 2.8 m/s |
|---|---|
| February | 4.9 knots · 2.5 m/s |
| March | 4.9 knots · 2.5 m/s |
| April | 4.1 knots · 2.1 m/s |
| May | 3.2 knots · 1.6 m/s |
| June | 3.0 knots · 1.5 m/s |
| July | 2.7 knots · 1.4 m/s |
| August | 2.6 knots · 1.3 m/s |
| September | 3.1 knots · 1.6 m/s |
| October | 4.2 knots · 2.2 m/s |
| November | 5.4 knots · 2.8 m/s |
| December | 5.6 knots · 2.9 m/s |
Nearby
More spots within 60 km
Been there?
Add what you know
Parking changed, a new ban, a new obstacle in the water? Tell us, we will check it and update the page.
Sources: Community map “USA NW Kite Spots” (Google My Maps). Wind NASA POWER, airports OurAirports, photos Wikimedia Commons (author and licence with each photo). As of 17 October 2026. These are riders' reports; local rules change, so look around before you ride and follow local signs.
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