San Juan Island National Historical Park · Washington

Grandma's Cove

0.3 mi of trail, end to end · 80 ft of descent · 22 ft–136 ft · hiking

124 ft 91 ft · 0.1 mi high 124 ft

Hike to Grandma's Cove the Park Service's write-up

dogs allowed

Grandma's Cove at American Camp
Grandma's Cove at high tide Photo: NPS

Grandma’s Cove is a great place to go for a swim! The water is shallow and protected, making it safer and warmer than other beaches on the island. While exploring the shoreline, you might see anemones, tide pool sculpin, mussels, shore crabs, barnacles, and a variety of seaweeds. Visitors often find sea glass too!

If you’re interested in a hike, the mile long round trip to the cove is of moderate difficulty. Along the way you can see the remains of Robert’s Redoubt . You might also spot bald eagles, foxes, or rabbits.

To get to Grandma’s Cove, you should park at the American Camp Visitor Center. Take the westernmost trail to the Parade Ground and shortly after leaving the parking lot a marked trail to Grandma’s Cove will be on your right. From there you will walk 5-10 minutes downhill on a grassy trail with expansive ocean views and then you’ll reach the beach!

Accessibility The hike to Grandma's cove is a 1 mile round trip hike along an unpaved trail. The trail descends 150 feet to the cove. The decent to the cove is steep and may be difficult for some hikers.

This hike on nps.gov

On the parks map

All 20 trails in San Juan Island National Historical ParkFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.