Winter in the San Juan Islands is slow, the superlative of “island time”. Though Outdoor Odysseys isn’t running commercial trips this time of year there is still paddling to be had. To paddle the routes of our fair weather trips, up the west side of San Juan Island, with a rare blanket of snow covering [...]

The folks on this week’s four-day sea kayak tour were in for a treat last night when a band of Outdoor Odysseys guides along with owner and founder Clark Casebolt showed up at their campsite on Jones Island to surprise the tour leader and birthday girl, Sarah Young. The group left San Juan Island in [...]

As the first of September approaches, so does your last chance to check out the weekly Friday Harbor Art Market! As of this summer, the San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild has begun hosting a weekly art market on Thursdays from 5 to 8 PM in downtown Friday Harbor, at Brickworks at 150 Nichols Street. Every [...]

Come out to San Juan Island and join us for a sea kayaking trip to see why the San Juan Archipelago is the little-known jewel of the Pacific Northwest!

It’s been a nearly perfect week here on San Juan Island, both off the water and on. The annual San Juan County Fair began on Wednesday, and Friday Harbor has been packed with visitors. The weather, which has been less than ideal for much of the summer, has finally turned nice. The whales have been [...]

After a coolish spring and summer, the Outdoor Odysseys garden located on the outskirts of Friday Harbor, San Juan Island is finally coming into full bloom! We continue to have organic zucchini, squash, rhubarb, basil, and several varieties of lettuce to send out on our overnight trips, and just a few days ago we harvested [...]

For such small and relatively isolated islands, the San Juans boast a variety of unique historical, geographical, and biological features. As I near the end of my first summer on San Juan Island, I continue to be amazed by the new things I learn about the San Juan Islands everyday. Aside from the Orca whales, [...]

August is here, meaning it’s time to name some baby Orcas! Four calves from the three pods of resident Orca whales that reside in the water off the west coast of San Juan Island will be given names this month by the San Juan Island Whale Museum. Read more about the four calves and vote [...]

This past week, I had a friend in town who was visiting the San Juan Islands for the first time. Wanting to show her as much of the islands as possible (and wanting to do a bit of exploring myself!) I decided to take the opportunity to visit a couple of the other islands in [...]

This past week was a busy one at Outdoor Odysseys, with single- and multi-day sea kayaking trips coming and going right and left! From the look of it, things won’t be slowing down anytime soon. Last Monday marked the start of our busy week, with a four-day sea kayaking trip, led by Outdoor Odysseys guide [...]

Last week on one of our “Eagles and Orcas” one-day sea kayak tours, guests were treated to a visit by an extra-special San Juan Islander. “A whale?” you might wonder. Well, guess again. His name is Tucker, and he is not a whale or a person but a black Labrador retriever whose job it is [...]

We’ve always thought we had some pretty stellar guides here at Outdoor Odysseys. Whether they’re teaching guests how to paddle, modeling spray skirts, spouting knowledge about bull kelp and gooseneck barnacles, or whipping up another Dutch oven masterpiece, it often seems there’s almost nothing they can’t do. These past couple of weeks were proof of that. One of our newest guides auditioned last Saturday for this season’s American Idol, and one of our second-year guides won second place in a photography contest!

Beginning this summer, Outdoor Odysseys will be offering a brand new “Island Exploration” day tour on San Juan Island, where guests will have the opportunity to sample some of the best things that the island has to offer. We’ll spend the day exploring our favorite local spots, including Mount Finlayson, Lime Kiln Point State Park, and the Pelindaba Lavender Farm, and we’ll finish the day with wine tasting at San Juan Vinyards or cider and gin tasting at Westcott Bay Cider.

So you thought that hitchhiking went out of fashion years ago, along with that bygone era of bell bottoms and tie-dye? Well, here in the San Juan Islands, the practice lives on (as do the styles—we love tie-dye!). In 2006, a group of San Juan islanders began brainstorming ways to develop a more sustainable transportation [...]

As June draws to a close on San Juan Island, summer continues to pick up speed. Last week brought some sunny weather to the island and live music at The Doctor’s Office (a coffee shop—not an actual medical center), the Rumor Mill, and the San Juan County Fairgrounds. Cask & Schooner, a restaurant and pub [...]