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Griffin Bay Kayaking: Scenic Wildlife Adventure
5.0
41 Ratings
Friday Harbor
Discover tranquility on a guided kayak tour in Griffin Bay. Spot wildlife, enjoy stunning mountain views, and escape the crowds with San Juan Kayak Expeditions.
Discover tranquility on a guided kayak tour in Griffin Bay. Spot wildlife, enjoy stunning mountain views, and escape the crowds with San Juan Kayak Expeditions.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- San Juan Kayak Expeditions - The tour meeting point – walking distance from the Friday Harbor Ferry Terminal. Meet up with your guide here before we depart for our paddle session.
-
Jackson Beach Park - Our launch point into Griffin Bay!
Gain confidence in the kayak with a brief paddling instruction and safety talk before heading out on the…
- San Juan Kayak Expeditions - The tour meeting point – walking distance from the Friday Harbor Ferry Terminal. Meet up with your guide here before we depart for our paddle session.
- Jackson Beach Park - Our launch point into Griffin Bay!
Gain confidence in the kayak with a brief paddling instruction and safety talk before heading out on the water.
- Griffin Bay - The peaceful, protected waters of Griffin Bay provide an excellent paddling experience for guests of all experience levels. Watch for seals, porpoises, and a variety of marine birds as we make our way around the bay.
- Dinner Island - Home to a colony of harbor seals, paddle the peaceful waters of Griffin Bay out to witness these playful creatures
- 25 Nichols St - We’ll drop you off at the same place we met at the end of the tour, right in the heart of Downtown Friday Harbor.
What's Included
- All taxes and fees
- Landing and/or facility fees
- Professionally trained naturalist kayak guide
- Use of all sea kayaking equipment and safety gear
- Transportation to launch site from Friday Harbor
- All taxes and fees
- Landing and/or facility fees
- Professionally trained naturalist kayak guide
- Use of all sea kayaking equipment and safety gear
- Transportation to launch site from Friday Harbor
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Bottled water
- Sun protection (sunglasses, sun screen, hat)
- Personal weather appropriate clothing
- Gratuities
- Bottled water
- Sun protection (sunglasses, sun screen, hat)
- Personal weather appropriate clothing
Additional Information
Although just one mile south of Friday Harbor, Griffin Bay is a world away from it all! This trip offers peace and quiet and superb views of glacier-covered Mt. Baker and the Olympic Mountain range. Unhindered by strong tidal currents, it is an ideal trip for families and anyone wanting to experience sea kayaking.
We will explore picturesque Dinner…
Although just one mile south of Friday Harbor, Griffin Bay is a world away from it all! This trip offers peace and quiet and superb views of glacier-covered Mt. Baker and the Olympic Mountain range. Unhindered by strong tidal currents, it is an ideal trip for families and anyone wanting to experience sea kayaking.
We will explore picturesque Dinner Island and it’s colony of chubby resident harbor seals, then turn south toward quiet coves. You may see bald eagles, Dall’s or Harbor porpoise, river otters, mink and oodles of migratory sea birds like scoters, harlequin ducks, loons and mergansers along with our local herons, cormorants, gulls and kingfishers!
This trip moves at an easy pace and offers a chance to get away from the crowds.
Forged in 1980 from leave-no-trace ethics and a commitment to excellence, San Juan Kayak Expeditions provides fun knowledgeable guides, top of the line equipment, including fiberglass kayaks & carbon fiber paddles, and personalized customer service.
- For children 8 and older when accompanied by an adult
- Must be of average height and weight. 225 Max weight; 6’6 max height
Location
25 Nichols St
Nichols Street
2 blocks from the Friday Harbor Ferry dock
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(41 Ratings)
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Jc091958
Sep 4, 2025
Fun double kayak experience - We enjoyed a guided kayak tour with Noah and Cooper for 3 hrs with a great picnic lunch. The guides were super friendly, helpful and professional all rolled together. Our experience was connected to Bicycle Adventures touring. The conditions were calm water and along the shoreline and along with our guides skill to ensure we were safe …. It was a good experience. The one negative was the broken seat in the pink kayak front seat and unfortunately I didn’t discover the issue until our lunch stop. I was assured that was making me slide down and the seat would be need to be repaired/replaced after the experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pamela
Jul 27, 2025
Amazing experience touring Friday Harbor and the islands. - Wow this trip exceeded my expectations. It was challenging, the food was excellent and the group was awesome.
The beauty of this area was breathtaking and our guide Noah knew every detail of the history, the conditions and the best places to camp.
Coming from Boston to the Seattle area was beyond my expectations.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D3800cqgregoryb
Jul 22, 2025
Great Guided Tour - This was a great day to spend the day kayaking on the island! Shannon was a great guide who was professional and very knowledgeable about the local waters! Although the orcas were hiding from us on this day we still managed to see porpoises, bald eagles, a blue heron, and some harbor seals. I’d definitely recommend the all day guided tour on a warm summer day!
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Lensladyk
Jun 30, 2025
Amazing trip - I did the full day expedition to Lime Kiln. Ryan was an awesome guide! It was my first time sea kayaking, and I had a blast. We even saw harbor seals and ochre sea stars. Highly recommend using this company if you're considering kayaking the San Juans!
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D6303hsamandap
May 29, 2025
Kayak trip - Noah, Maddie and Ryan took our group out on a kayak tour and I had the best experience. They gave us great instructions beforehand and made sure everyone was comfortable before we set off! I would highly recommend these guides and this company to anyone looking for a great kayak tour!
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Wbratton7
Sep 16, 2024
Best Kayaking Trip ever. - This was the PERFECT way to see the San Juan Islands. We paddled between 6 and 10 miles each day depending on tide, weather and how we felt, except Wednesday which was a rest day. We started in Friday Harbour and visited Lopez and Orcas islands. A typical paddle day started with a yummy breakfast brought to us at our inn's and then we hit the water about 9am. Paddle for a few hours seeing seals, eagles, jellyfish and numerous wildlife. We would stop each day for lunch consisting of either sandwiches or a charcuterie board with wine and dessert. Then a couple more hours of paddling to our destination. All of the Inn's that we stayed at were wonderful and very comfy. No sleeping in tents or on the shore on this trip, stay in a nice inn, with a good mattress and private bathroom. (all luggage is portered between destinations) Dinners were all at upscale nice restaurants and included with wine, except one. The guides on our trip were Cole and Owen. They were delightful young men, very professional, good humored, and very knowledgeable. On our rest day we hiked Mt Constitution on Orcas Island and had some relaxing time at our inn to enjoy. We also did a bioluminescence kayak that night. Overall this was a top rate, high quality, fun and educational trip with gorgeous scenery from the water level. My wife and I would do this again in a heartbeat.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scottmn27bm
Aug 4, 2024
A wonderful holiday experience - We had a great time doing a day long kayak tour out at Lime Kiln and the surrounding coastline. The weather was foggy with a bit of rain, but we stayed warm and dry in the kayaks. We saw a lot of bald eagles and harbor seals. Ryan was an excellent guide and explained the shore ecosystem well, and we appreciated the excellent packed lunch and instruction as it was our first time in sea kayaks. We would definitely book again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
326juliay
Jul 19, 2024
Fun Day on the Water - This trip was wonderful - it was part of a multi-day outing with a biking tour group. Our guides, Ryan and Noah were professional, knowledgeable, helpful, and supportive of all level of guests - they were both a pleasure to spend the afternoon with! The kayaks were well-outfitted. Both Noah and Ryan took time to thoroughly review safety and use instructions AND each had wonderful stories to share about the region, history, and culture. KUDOS to them both - it was clear they had a passion for working on the water, educating others about the unique sea life in the area, and sharing this amazing experience with others! A MUST DO excursion if you are in the area!
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Vacadad1915
Jul 3, 2024
Wonderful Experience! - Awesome experience! Our guide Owen was very well informed of the wildlife and the area. This is not an easy stroll, the currents are pulling on you the entire time. My wife and I have kayaked before but not on the ocean. We were worn out by the end of the 3 hour tour.
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Erin
Jun 29, 2024
Beautiful kayak experience on San Juan Island! - We had an amazing 3 hour tour with Benning! We went to Lime Kiln light house and saw Bald eagles, harbor seals and even a river otter! It was beautiful and so relaxing! Benning was so kind, knowledgeable and so appreciated his sense of adventure!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor