Cattle Point NCRA
The southern tip of San Juan Island is known as Cattle Point. The area is managed by the DNR as the Cattle Point Natural Resources Conservation Area. It is close to American Camp but is managed by the State, not the National Park. The NRCA provides a diverse range of geologic features, plant communities and wildlife habitat. The largest portion of the NRCA extends across the tip of the island from the Strait of Juan de Fuca, over the Mount Finlayson ridge and into Griffin Bay. A second parcel bookends the U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse and includes an interpretive center in an historic building. At Cattle Point NRCA, visitors will find grasslands, gravelly beach, dunes, a mature conifer forest and steep bluffs. The day use interpretive area includes parking, beach access, hiking trails with viewpoints, and a picnic area with shelter and restroom. Wildlife is abundant and includes eagles and other birds of prey. Cattle Point offers outstanding views of the Olympic and Cascade Mountains and surrounding islands.
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History
Cattle appeared at the point in 1853 when the Hudson�s Bay Company established a ranch on the southern end of the island, populating it with sheep and cattle, which were off-loaded near the point. Four years later, a vessel was stranded nearby, and its load of cattle was forced to swim ashore near the point. The following year in 1858, Cattle Point showed up on British charts.
Cattle Point Lighthouse
Looking NE to Goose Island National Wildlife Preserve
North from Cattle Point
Historic building at Cattle Point
Driving through the Cattle Point NCRA
Picnic area
San Juan Channel
Beach leading to BLM lands
This trailhead in the Cattle Point Natural Resources Conservation Area will allow loop hikes that are half in the San Juan National Historic Park and half in the NRCA.