50 of Washington's Best Sea Kayaking Adventures

From an easy paddle through Seattle's Washington Park Arboretum to an overnight trip to Clark Island and so many other routes varying in length and difficulty, these adventures will keep you busy exploring the Evergreen State by water for the foreseeable future.

Working with Outdoor Project Contributors Matthew Williams in Seattle, Shane Kucera out of Portland, and Tyler Yates, now living in Anchorage, we took the TRAK Seeker ST 16 out on the open waters and put it to the test while documenting the best sea kayaking Washington has to offer. In addition, we developed custom Field Guides + Maps for each adventure so you can take to the water prepared and with ease. Click on an adventure below to find and download the individual map.

Seattle + Tacoma Metro Area

Kayaker near Discovery Park in Seattle. Photo by Matthew Williams.

Adventures:

• Elliott Bay
• Jetty Island
• Mercer Slough
• Mercer Island Loop
• North Lake Washington Loop
• Golden Gardens to Hedley Spit, Bainbridge Island
• Seward Park
• Washington Park Arboretum
• Golden Gardens to West Point Lighthouse
• Golden Gardens to Carkeek Park
• Portage Bay
• Blake Island State Park
• Lake Washington Ship Canal
• Union Bay
• Duwamish Waterway
• Fox Island
• Sammamish River
• Hat Island

Northern Puget Sound + San Juan Islands

Sunset view of the San Juan Islands from Fox Point on Sucia Island. Photo by Shane Kucera.

Adventures:

• Matia Island to Orcas Island
• Posey Island
• Stuart Island
• Burrows Island
• Sucia Island to Matia Island Paddle
• Sucia Island Circumnavigation
• Orcas Island to Sucia Island Paddle
• James Island
• Shaw Island Circumnavigation
• Jones Island
• Obstruction Island Paddle
• Clark Island
• Johns Island
• Turn Island State Park
• Obstruction Pass Beach to Cascade Bay Paddle
• Anacortes to Friday Harbor
• Blind Island

Southern Puget Sound

View of Mount Rainier (14,411') from Fox Island. Photo by Matthew Williams.

Adventures:

• Port Townsend
• Hope Island State Park
• Hammersley Inlet
• Cutts Island
• Stretch Island
• Reach Island Circumnavigation
• Raft Island Circumnavigation

Olympic Peninsula

Kayaker on the Sooes River near Cape Flattery. Photo by Tyler Yates.

Adventures:

• Ozette Lake
• Port Angeles
• Sooes River
• Dungeness Bay

Mount Baker Area

Mount Baker (10,731') from Lake Shannon. Photo by Tyler Yates.

Adventures:

• Baker Lake
• Lake Shannon

Eastern Washington

Kayaker on the Columbia River's Lake Pateros. Photo by Tyler Yates.

Adventures:

• Lake Pateros
• Lake Wenatchee