Anacortes Sea Kayaking with Anacortes Kayak Tours

Kayaking the Secret Side of the San Juan Islands

Our Burrows Island kayak tour continues to be a popular kayaking trip for a variety of reasons. We run the trip all year long so it appeals to locals wanting to experience sea kayaking in the seasonal changes of the north Puget Sound and San Juan Islands region. We are also available for visitors to Washington who are looking for a great kayaking experience when all of the other kayak tours in the San Juan Islands have shut down for the winter. Being a small company that is locally owned and operated by kayaking enthusiasts has its advantages.

Sea Kayaking and Wildlife Viewing

Summer sea kayaking offers some of the best kayaking of the year. Sunny skies, warm temperatures, and lots of wildlife activity predominate in the San Juans.

Burrows Island is one of the best places in Washington State and the San Juans to see Harbor porpoise and in the summer our kayak tours are frequently are graced with the presence of small groups of mothers with their new calves. Bald eagles make use of the biologically rich waters of Rosario Strait to fatten up on salmon, herring, and occasionally sea birds. Seals accompany us as we glide along the edges of the kelp beds, they try hard not to be noticed but, if we are patient, they often come fairly close to our kayaks.

During the summer months Orca whales can also be seen on this kayak tour. Although sea kayaking with Orca whales in the San Juan Islands is a fantastic experience, we choose not to emphasize that in our marketing. Although some other kayak companies here in the San Juans have chosen a different philosophy, we still believe that it is better to be straight with our guests than to make unreasonable claims about kayaking with whales. For more information on this read our Sea Kayaking with Whales page. We think that you will appreciate the insight.

Spring, Fall, and Winter sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands is amazing as well, but for different reasons. Although the temperature is cooler, and the skies are often gray, the San Juan Islands have become a quiet and empty place once again. While summer can be characterized by the amount of boats trafficking through the San Juans, winter is a time of wilderness. Aside from the occasional tug boat off in the distance, or the Island Express water-taxi cruising by, the San Juan Islands are empty. And quiet. For folks out sea kayaking this translates into an exceptional experience. With the exception of Orca Whales, which have traveled out of the area, the summer wildlife is still present. Seals, porpoise, and eagles can still be seen on the kayak tour. In addition to these regular inhabitants our kayak tours are also graced with an abundance of migratory sea birds. We often spend considerable time on these winter kayak tours just floating in the middle of the bay and listening to the soft calls of the Grebes, and the enchanting cries of Loons off in the distance.

No matter what time of the year you join us, Burrows Island has so much to offer that you'll be back soon for more.

And now for some more information on the San Juan Islands of Burrows Bay.........

Place Names of these San Juan Islands:

The Wilkes Expedition, led by Charles Wilkes, came to the San Juan Islands in 1841 following an epic exploratory expedition that included South America, Australia, the South Pacific, and Antarctica. Charles Wilkes was a War of 1812 buff and when he came through the San Juan Islands he set about changing the Spanish names of many of the islands in the San Juans. This really makes no sense considering that the War of 1812 really did not involve the San Juan Islands at all. Fortunately most of his changes were reverted back to the more pleasant sounding Spanish names. The islands in Burrows Bay still retain these odd associations with a war that happened in lands far to the east of the San Juan Islands.

• Burrows Island- Named for War of 1812 Lieutenant Williams Burrows who died aboard his command, the USS Enterprise, after a a fierce 30 minute battle with the HMS Boxer captained by Samuel Blythe. Incidentally, both men died from wounds inflicted in the first fusillade. After the battle the Boxer was ruined.
  

• Allan Island- west of Fidalgo Island, and just south of Burrows Island, was named in 1841 by the Wilkes Expedition in honor of Captain William Henry Allan of the US Navy.
  Allan and Burrows had previously been named by the Spaniards in the "Sutil y Mexicana" Expedition as Las dos Islas Morrows.

• Burrows Bay- Named by the Wilkes Expedition as "Argus Bay". The Argus was the ship that Captain Allan was on when he was mortally wounded fighting the British brig Pelican on Aug 14, 1813. It is unclear why the name Argus Bay was replaced by Burrows Bay.

• Anacortes , located on Fidalgo Island. It was settled about 1860 and received the name of Ship Harbor . In 1876, Amos Bowman, a civil engineer, bought the site and platted a town. He sought to give it the maiden names of his wife - Anna Curtis - but the spelling was purposely changed in order to give a Spanish tone.
  
  
  

Burrows Island Lighthouse History

The Burrows Island Lighthouse, located on the southwestern end of the island, warns ships of the dangers of nearby Dennis Shoal and Lawson Reef. The wood framed lighthouse was designed by C.W. Lieck, who also designed the somewhat similar Mukilteo lighthouse around the same time period. The 34-foot-tall square tower is attached to a fog signal building, which originally held a Daboll trumpet fog signal.

The fourth-order Fresnel lens, a white light with a red sector, was first lit on April 1, 1906. Unbelievably, during the first three months of operation the fog signal never had to be sounded. The next year it blew for 329 hours.

The island's shoreline is primarily sheer rock with sharp drop-offs and steep grassy hills. The light station was built on the only level spot on the island. Originally, the light station included the tower and fog signal building, a keepers' duplex , a boathouse , and a derrick . Later, a bungalow was built north of the duplex to house an additional keeper. When electricity came, a power plant was added. Every eight months the buoy tender Fir delivered enough fuel to keep the generators going.

The light was automated in 1972. A modern optic replaced the Fresnel lens in the early 1990s, and the boathouse and keepers' dwelling were boarded up. A helicopter landing pad now stands where the keeper's bungalow was located. The original lens can now be found at the Coast Guard Station in Port Angeles.

Forty acres of the island now make up Burrows Island Light station State Park, which includes the light station and 1000 feet of shoreline. A trail behind the lighthouse winds through groves of madronas to the top of the island, where the 650-foot climb is rewarded with a spectacular view of Rosario Strait.

On April 27, 2006 the availability of the Burrows Island Light Station to an eligible entity was announced under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. It is presently not known if any acceptable applications were made.

This information was obtained from Lighthouse Friends, Thanks for compiling this information Kraig!

Plants of Burrows Island, San Juan Islands

Many people that come sea kayaking with us are interested in learning about the diverse plant life that grows out on Burrows Island, and in the San Juan Islands in general. Many of the plants in the following list can be found elsewhere in the San Juan Islands. For anyone looking to become more familiar with plants of the San Juan Islands, we highly recommend looking into the local chapter of the Washington
Native Plant Society

List covers plants found on Burrows Island just south of Washington Park , near Anacortes. Author unknown. 1974. 74 spp.

This list represents the work of different WNPS members over the years.

Its accuracy has not been verified by the Washington Native Plant Society.

We offer it to individuals as a tool to enhance the enjoyment and study of native plants.

* Introduced Species

Rates and Scheduling

3-hour trip: $65 adults/ $59 discounts/ $54 kids under 12

May - September: Daily departures; 10am, 2pm, evenings

October - April: On Demand

Reserve your space today!
Call: (800) 992-1801 or Reserve Online

*Please remember that the whales follow their own schedule, not ours. Although we do enjoy kayaking with these magnificent creatures on our trips, the frequency and proximity of sightings are ultimately decided by the whales. We feel that it is misleading and irresponsible for any kayak tour operator to imply that whales will be seen on any given sea kayaking trip.

48 hour notice required for all cancellations. See Rates & Schedules for more information.

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