Labor Day comes and Birch Bay changes character almost overnight. The day-trippers thin out. The state park lot has open spots again by mid-morning. The water, which took all summer to warm up in this shallow, west-facing bay, is at its best right as most people stop coming. That gap between the calendar and the crowd is the reason the best things to do in Birch Bay often land in September, not July.
Summer officially runs to the equinox, near the end of the month. The stretch from Labor Day to then is the quiet window. Here is how to use it.
The Best Things to Do in Birch Bay Start on the Beach
Birch Bay warms slowly because it is shallow and faces west. By early September the water has had months of sun on it, and the flats keep that warmth longer than the open coast does. Low tide pulls the shoreline out a long way, which makes for flat, easy walking and good beachcombing. Mornings are quiet. Parking is simple. The families who packed the sand in August are back at school, and the pace drops to something closer to how locals use the bay the rest of the year.
Check a tide table. The shoreline here changes shape by the hour, and a check before you go decides whether you are wading in warm shallows or walking a quarter mile of exposed flat. Both are good afternoons. They are just different ones.
Crab Season Runs Right Through September
Late summer is when crabbing opens. Birch Bay sits in WDFW’s Marine Area 7 North, the Gulf of Georgia, and the 2026 recreational Dungeness season runs August 15 through September 28, open Thursday through Monday each week. September is the quieter half of that window. Fewer boats, fewer pots, and the crab are still there.
You do not need a boat. At low tide, wade into the eelgrass beds on the flats and check the depressions and kelp lines, where Dungeness sit tight as the water pulls back. A dip net does the job out there. The bay runs about 10 to 20 feet deep, shallow enough to set a pot off the beach on an incoming tide instead. Everyone needs a Dungeness catch record card, whatever their age. Anyone 16 or older also needs a Washington fishing or shellfish license with a Puget Sound crab endorsement. The card gets turned in to WDFW by October 1, whether you keep a crab or not. Confirm the current dates and daily limits on the WDFW shellfishing page before you go, since the state resets them each year.
The Light Gets Better as the Days Get Shorter
September trades daylight for color. Sunsets come earlier, so you do not have to wait until nine to catch one, and the low autumn light does something to the flats that midsummer glare never manages. A walk on the exposed tide at golden hour, with the islands across the water going dark, is the quiet return on coming late in the season. Bring a jacket. The evenings cool off fast once the sun drops.
For the busy-season version of the bay, the go-karts and mini golf at Station 49, kayak rentals, and Drayton Harbor oysters up in Blaine, our full Birch Bay summer guide covers all of it. Planning further out, the spring coastal and islands guide covers the other quiet end of the year.
The State Park Stays Open
Birch Bay State Park is open year-round, with more than a mile and a half of saltwater shoreline and the half-mile Terrell Marsh Trail through one of the few salt-and-freshwater estuaries left in the county. Campsites are reservable through September 15, so a last camping weekend is still on the table if you want a last minute getaway this weekend. Bird activity in the marsh picks up morning and evening as the fall migration starts to move through, with herons and egrets working the mudflats. Current conditions and the reservation link are on the Birch Bay State Park page.
Where to Stay
September is the easiest time to fit in the best things to do in Birch Bay, and the least crowded. Tideview sits minutes from the bay, close to the state park, the beach, and the village without much drive between them. Salt & Ember Cottage is smaller and a short walk from the sand, an easy base for a quiet family weekend. Fall dates and rates tend to open up once the summer rush clears, which is part of the case for coming now.
We manage a small number of homes across Whatcom and Skagit Counties, Birch Bay included. If you want the last good weekends of the season close to the water, we are easy to reach.