August Kayaking and Whales

August 29, 2016

San Juan Island Kayak Tours in the Fall Season

So for August has been the best month of the season for whale watching on our kayak tours. Early August we started having more frequent whale encounters and has continued throughout the month. We are looking forward to September Kayak Tours and hope we continue with the whale sightings.

September has been a great month for whale watching in past seasons. Though every season is a bit different we hope the late salmon runs will entice the orcas to stay around.

A couple of recent highlights have been encounters with Humpback and Minke Whales. Going into the fall season we tend to see more Humpback activity and it is always awesome seeing these giants. Along with fall also comes an increase in Stelar Sea Lions. These titans are fun to see and can be a bit intimidating if they decide to take an interest in us. But overall the experience with Stelar Sea Lions is pretty awesome.

We get a lot of call this time of year wondering if we will be open this fall Discovery stays open later than most companies and will continue to provide tours as long as the reservations continue to come in. We plan on operating all of September and into October. If all goes well we will be running kayak tours through October.

The best part about kayaking San Juan Island in the fall season is the reduced traffic. Reduced boat, kayak, people and in town traffic. It is one of the best times of the year to visit. If you are think about a fall visit to San Juan, make the commitment and come on out. So what if it rains. We provide rain jackets and pants on all of our kayak tours. Kayaking in the rain is not a problem at all and it may not even be raining. Generally September is sunny and cool.

Whale Encounters for August

  • 8/3 Orcas
  • 8/5 Orcas
  • 8/7 Humpbacks
  • 8/8 Orcas
  • 8/9 Orcas
  • 8/12 Orcas
  • 8/14 Orcas
  • 8/15 Orcas
  • 8/16 Orcas
  • 8/17 Orcas
  • 8/18 Orcas
  • 8/20 Orcas
  • 8/21 Humpbacks
  • 8/22 Orcas
  • 8/23 Minkes
  • 8/24 Orcas
  • 8/25 Orcas
  • 8/26 Orcas

Questions or comments? Phone us at or send an email to [email protected]. You can also visit our contact page and submit an inquiry via our contact form.