[Saturday, 3/17/18 - 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

     We were blessed with yet another sunny day for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day. Captain Mike and I headed out again with a great group of guests and looked northward for exciting wildlife in the San Juan archipelago. We first stopped at Green Point on Spieden Island and looked at a large group of Steller Sea Lions rafting and swimming in the strong current streaming off of the point. This...

[Friday - 3/9/18 - 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

Banking on Wildlife

            These past few days we have had a great streak of weather that is making it really feel like spring up here in the islands. Bright, calm, sunny days with a light breeze and a small rain shower in the afternoon. The plants and animals are starting to notice too. Some of our overwintering birds are starting to head back up north and even a few flowers have started to bloom! This Friday was...

[Monday, 3/5/18 – 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

            Monday, Mondays. Today, we had an extra small group join us for another sunny day in the San Juan Islands. Captain Mike and I headed north towards Spieden Island to start our adventure. We first stopped at Green Point on Spieden Island to looks at the big groups of sleepy Steller Sea Lions there. Sleeping, they look like giant fluffy lumps lined up on the rocks and we watched them for a while and rode the strong...

[Saturday, 3/3/18 – 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

This Saturday, we headed out again on another rare, sunny spring day! Captain Mike and I took our small group of guests north towards the outer islands of the San Juans and the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia. We made our first stop at Green Point (the eastern-most point on Spieden Island just north of San Juan). Here at Green Point is a favorite haul out spot for our largest pinniped species and the largest Sea...

[Friday, 3/2/18 - 12:00 - M/V Sea Lion - Naturalist Erick]

A Steller Start

            Here at San Juan Safaris we are having a great time since starting one-a-day tours on March 1st. This Friday, Captain Mike and I took out a small group of folks to look for wildlife on a quintessential Pacific Northwest weather day. There was no rain but all around you could see the tree tops scraping the clouds and creating the undulating mist that often surrounds the islands this time of year...

[Sunday, 2/25/2018, 12:00, M/V Sea Lion, Naturalist Erick]

The Steller Sweet Life       

This Sunday, Captain Mike and I headed out to search for some amazing wildlife on another sunny day in the Salish Sea. It was pretty blustery on the west side of the islands, but we managed to stay in the sheltered waters in the middle and northern side of our little archipelago. We headed first to Green Point on Spieden Island and spotted a little bit of splashing around one of the rocky outcroppings. It was...

[Monday 2/19/2018, M/V Sea Lion 12:00, Naturalist Erick]

It seems winter is here again and bringing with it some mildly cold weather. Luckily, though, when the mercury drops here it also brings bright sunny days. So, on this sunny Presidents’ Day Captain Mike and I took a small crew out to go find some spectacular wildlife in the Salish Sea. We headed south to go search through San Juan Channel and eventually the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Our first stop was at Whale Rocks just...

[Sunday 02/11/2018, M/V Sea Lion 12:00, Naturalist Erick]

     On Sunday, we were lucky enough to get another bright, sunny, brisk day. We started our whale and wildlife search headed north through San Juan Channel toward the outer islands. We stopped first at the Cactus Islands. Most folks don’t associate cacti with the Pacific Northwest, but the San Juan Islands are in a rainshadow area created by our coastal mountains and Vancouver Island. Our climate is a little more arid than...

From the rolling hills and valleys to the rocky seaside, San Juan Island is known for its natural beauty and a stay here should take full advantage of these awe-inspiring landscapes. To help you plan your visit, we’ve put together a list of six San Juan Island accommodations with a view.

© Friday Harbor House

Friday Harbor House

Located just next door to The Whale Museum, Friday Harbor House features 23 guestrooms, most of which have been newly...

[Naturalist Sarah – 10/16/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Yesterday was a great day out on the water enjoying the beautiful scenery and wildlife of the San Juan Islands. We started the day by heading south through San Juan Channel from Friday Harbor.

Just south of Griffin Bay we found some Steller’s sea lions feeding on chum salmon. We watched the large pinnipeds shaking the fish and ripping them apart above the surface. In the turbulent water we also got great looks at harbor...