Boating moorage

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has the largest state-managed mooring system in the nation, with more than 40 marine parks and more than 8,500 feet of public moorage space for your enjoyment of Washington's waterways. Your marine parks show off the best of Puget Sound and give you plenty of diverse activities including:

  • Clamming
  • Crabbing
  • Examining fossils
  • Exploring old forts
  • Fishing
  • Hiking scenic island paths
  • Watching forest critters

Rates and fees

Fees are charged year round for mooring at docks, floats, and buoys from 1 p.m. to 8 a.m.

  • Mooring bouys are non-reservable and first-come, first-served.
  • The daily fee is 70 cents per foot, with a minimum of $15
  • Moorage buoys is $15 a night
  • Annual moorage permit is $5 per foot, with a minimum of $60

Boaters can purchase an Annual Moorage Permit, which is valid from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.

Note: Boats larger than 45 feet are not permitted to moor on buoys, only docks and linear moorage.

For more information about how we arrived at these moorage rates, download the Marine Park Study (PDF).

Some parks offer phone in buoy registration

San Juan Islands:                                       Skagit County:

Blind Island
Clark Island
James Island
Jones Island
Matia island
Obstruction Pass
Patos island
Spencer Spit
Sucia Island
Turn Island		Hope Island - Skagit
Skagit Island

South Sound:
Blake Island
Jarrell Cove

How it works:

  • When you arrive at a buoy, call the phone number on the mooring ball
  • Provide your buoy number and length of stay (3 nights maximum).
  • Pay with a credit or debit card or provide your Annual Boat Moorage permit number.
  • There is a $4.50 convenience fee to register by phone.
  • All buoys are first come, first served and $15 per night.

Moorage rules & regulations

  • Annual permits must be displayed as directed
  • Commercial vessels are restricted to loading and unloading passengers transported for recreational purposes
  • Continuous moorage at a facility is limited to three consecutive nights
  • Facility use is first come, first served
  • Leaving a dinghy at a buoy or dock does not reserve a moorage space
  • Open flames, live coals, and combustibles must be placed on a fireproof base, away from fuel tanks and vents
  • Overnight boaters must self-register and pay the fees where posted
  • Pets must be kept on leashes and under physical control at all times. Dispose properly of animal waste
  • Rafting is permitted within posted limits. A vessel rafted to another vessel will be charged a moorage fee based on its own length.