Patos Island is the northernmost of the San Juan Islands and is seldom visited except by small vessels due to limited anchorage. It’s rugged beauty and historic lighthouse intrigue the visitor, instilling a sense of peace as well as solitude and even loneliness. The feeling of isolation was especially true for lighthouse keepers.
In the 1880s, steamships bound for Alaska and Canada often encountered fog along this route and the Lighthouse Board recommended that a light and fog signal be established on the Island. Congress appropriated the requested funds in 1891, but work on the Island did not commence until two years later. In 1893, a lighthouse building and keeper’s house were constructed. Harry Mahler became the first lighthouse keeper and Edward Durgan served as assistant keeper.
Edward Durgan returned to Patos Island in 1905 as head keeper after serving at other lighthouses and working as a boatman for U.S. Customs. Edward brought his large family with him to live on the Island for the seven-year stint. Once a month, members of the Durgan family would take a twenty-six-mile journey by small craft to Bellingham, Washington for supplies. Helene Durgan Glidden, one of Edward’s thirteen children wrote a book in her later years entitled The Light on the Island, telling of her life and adventures growing up on a remote island. How she wandered the beaches, known to her as “the petticoats” of Patos, places where she talked to God, and how she played with her pet cow and explored the Island’s caves. The book is said to be a combination of fiction and non-fiction; nevertheless, the imagination stirs the experience.
Boaters today will discover their own experiences on Patos Island. You can hike the 1.5-mile loop trail around the island, offering some nice ocean vistas, or hike the short half-mile trail from Active Cove to the lighthouse on Alden Point. The lighthouse is the only building left from the days of the Durgan family. “Keepers of the Patos Light” (volunteers) open the lighthouse to visitors from Memorial Day weekend through mid-September, tours are subject to volunteer availability. You can call the Sucia Island State Park (360-376-2073) to inquire.
Mariners with small vessels can anchor in Active Cove or use the one mooring buoy that’s available in the cove. Current can run strong through the entrances into Active Cove, making mooring to the park buoy or anchoring challenging. We decided to visit Patos by dinghy, having anchored our larger mothership at Sucia Island. After checking currents and sea conditions, we made the 4-mile journey to Patos Island and anchored the dinghy offshore in Active Cove. Besides our dog and a number of geese on the island, we were all alone. The peaceful, scenic setting of Active Cove soon took hold, and the walk to the lighthouse brought that eerie feeling of solitude. We hiked the loop trail, ending at the picnic area and scenic camp sites overlooking the sea. Patos is indeed a special place, an adventure that one won’t soon forget.
