Potlatch State Park / Washington / United States

This picturesque lake is spot is popular with kiters and windsurfers of all abilities, and is good place to spend a day or two either learning the basics or practising more advanced techniques.

The area is open to the public from 6.30 a.m. to dusk in summer and 8a.m to dusk in winter.  The beach is fairly small and is mainly sand with a few rocks mixed in, but it doesn’t really get crowded and you’ll have enough room to move about safely.  The air temperature will reach a peak of about 20c in the height of summer and fall to about 4-5c in winter, while the water is always cool and will need a normal wetsuit in spring, summer and fall and a thick wetsuit or drysuit in winter.

The wind is mainly from the south, and that is also the best direction.  It blows this way almost year round and gives a speed of 10 -15 knots, so it’s enough to be useful without being difficult to handle.  The water is clean and usually has nice gentle swells, but if the winds are high then it can get a bit choppy too.

There is a campsite here if you want to make a weekend of the trip, and it is open all year round.  There are also showers by the beach that are available to everyone, and parking is just off highway 101.

There aren’t any problems here really, as long as you are aware of the location of the rocks and are able to manoeuvre around them.