sea kayak

Today we got geared up and headed out on a 5 hour kayaking trip out of Roche Harbor.  We started out by seeing lot's of harbor seals once we paddled to the Haro Strait.  Continuing south we had the opportunity to see a juvenile bald eagle as well as an adult hanging out in a 5 foot wide nest.  Not long after we were surprised by orcas appearing off our right hand side.  We got to spend about 15 minutes with the whales before they swam off and got looks as close as 50...

Today was a great day to be on the 5 hour kayaking trip.  We started out the day seeing a plethora of seals hauling out together, even seeing some mother seals and their pups! We then came across several bald eagles.  Upon pulling up onto a beach for lunch we had a beautiful eagle sitting right above us.  Later on we came across some really cool purple ochre sea stars and a male harbor seal put on a display by causing some big splashes.  To end our day we finally got to...

Another blue sky day here in Roche Harbor.  Today on our paddle we saw plenty of harbor seals, eagles, and even some harbor porpoise! We also found a lot of sea glass during our lunch break!

Kayak Guide Chris, 5 hour kayak tour, San Juan Island Outfitters Whale Watch and Kayak Tours

You stay classy Roche Harbor

Today I had the pleasure of accompanying an amazing family on a pretty beautiful paddle. This morning we paddled out to the bull kelp forest near Battleship Island, just off of Henry Island. Bull kelp is an important species in the Salish Sea, creating critical habitat for crabs, small fish, and even harbor seals! We enjoyed the antics of a particularly friendly seal dipping and diving through the currents. On our way back into Roche Harbor we stopped on Posey Island the...

We've had stunning weather these past few days and this entire next week is going to be more of the same! Plan on highs in the mid 70s for the next seven days.

Guide Michael witnessed a very unlikely sight today during his 5-Hour Kayak Tour! Michael and his guests started off the tour by paddling along the west side of Henry Island, which is one of the remote island in the San Juan Archipelago. They paddled past many pairs of mature bald eagles and several pairs of...

Guide Michael had a great morning sea kayak tour today. We are in the midst of a very warm spring weather pattern. Highs are forecasted to be in the low 70s through the rest of the week!

Michael and his guests departed from San Juan Outfitters' exclusive location in Roche Harbor, rounded Pearl Island, and paddled past little Posey Island. Posey Island is Washington State's smallest state park and is now also part of the new San Juan Islands National Monument!

The...

Friday Harbor, San Juan Island sea kayak tour wildlife update for July 4th:

Captain Brian wanted to report that two of our 5 hour sea kayak tours are currently with the Southern Resident Killer Whales (or SRKWs)! Our whale watch tour is also viewing whales on this busy 4th of July. What a great day!!

San Juan Island sea kayak wildlife update for Tuesday June 8th:

Yesterday I paddled out on our whale sanctuary 5 hour sea kayak tour. We left under blue skies but stiff breezes, and had a gorgeous day on the water. We saw and heard bald eagles, harbor seals, cormorants, black oystercatchers and more! We were down by lime kiln when we received reports that L pod was coming up island from the south, so all our fingers were tightly crossed and we waited in hope, but then the...

Well Noelle and I just returned from our first multi day sea kayak tour of 2010! We had a great, cheerful group and were both happy to get out on the water and dust some cobwebs off our paddling skills. We left Friday Harbor, paddled north and on Day 3 arrived at Roche Harbor-- all without retracing our steps.

Despite varying inclement weather our cheerful group made the best of each day. We were able to paddle around the Wasp Islands, hike around Jones Island...

Today I paddled out on a 3 hour kayak tour. It was a bit windy out but the overcast clouds created the most beautiful colors-- all of the islands to the west were clothed in wonderful shades of blue.
We saw harbor seals, courting bald eagles and lots of shorebirds.

As we were paddling down the west side of Henry Island we spied a Steller sea lion surfacing a few times just a few hundred feet away! This big guy was hard to identify at first because he surfaced...