camping Camping on San Juan Island sea kayaking san juan islandIf you have reserved space on one of our San Juan Island sea kayak trips you have several camping options if you decide not to stay at a Friday Harbor hotel or bed and breakfast.

San Juan County Park – 360-378-8420 – Campsites are located on the west side of San Juan Island on the water where we launch most of our trips. It has great views of passing ships, the southern resident pods of Orca whales and Vancouver Island. No store or showers. Shuttle or taxi from Friday Harbor is available. Outdoor Odysseys is one of only three outfitters to launch from San Juan County Park – the best place in the entire San Juan archipelago to kayak from and see whales.

Lakedale Campground – 800-617-2267 – Is a privately owned campground on a series of fresh water lakes with showers and a small store. They also have log cabins for rent. Shuttle or taxi is available from Friday Harbor.

“Leave no Trace” or Minimum Impact Camping on our San Juan Island Sea Kayaking Tours

With 22 years experience running guided sea kayaking tours from San Juan Island, Outdoor Odysseys has been instrumental in serving as a good role model and steward of the San Juan Islands for other private and commercial user groups. We have adopted the following guidelines while camping to maintain the environmental qualities of the San Juan Archipelago.

  • Choosing campsites – Most of the campsites we frequent are under the jurisdiction of the Washington State Parks. The parks maintain established campsites with picnic tables, fire rings and outhouses. We pay a daily camping fee for utilizing their facilities. We do not camp in undeveloped areas or trample native flora to establish new tent sites.
  • Dishwashing – When washing dishes guides scrape all organic leftovers into a bucket to be composted back at our office on San Juan Island. Guides take the labels off cans, wash, flatten and recycle all cans and bottles which are then taken back to the office on San Juan Island to be recycled.
  • Fires – Firewood, even in the Northwest, can be a precious commodity. We use fires sparingly, if at all. When making fires we use existing fire rings and smaller pieces of driftwood from the beach – not from the forest understory where fallen limbs decompose and help nourish new plant life.
  • When leaving a lunch spot or campsite – Our guides and guest respect our environment by leaving each area cleaner than we found it. On each trip we encourage our guests to pick up trash to be taken back to our San Juan office for disposal.