Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Gray Whale
Steller Sea Lions
Harbor Seals
Bald Eagles
Harbor Porpoise

April 26, 2025 | 10 AM Whale Watch

This is the best time of year for gray whales and today we were thrilled to encounter one these ocean giants! Every year, a handful of gray whales nicknamed "The Sounders" detour from their typical migration route to feast in the Salish Sea. If you love gray whales as much as we do, now is the time to join us one of our signature whale watching tours!

We headed out on our search and sea birds were zooming all over throughout our journey. We got great looks at rhinoceros auklets, pigeon guillemots, cormorants, and long tailed ducks. We headed through the inner islands and stopped at White Rock where we found a huge bob of seals and a bald eagle.

We continued our search from there up to Patos Island and got a stunning view of Kulshan behind the Patos Island Lighthouse. We searched to the south and stopped at Ewing Island and found a big group of Steller sea lions before doing a big search of West Bank. Continuing south we hadn't given up and continued to see harbor porpoise and sea birds as we neared Point Lawrence. We stopped at the Sinclair #4 Buoy and watched some Steller grumble at each other over lack of space before we continued to search up into Bellingham Bay.

As we headed south of the bay, Serena our sharp-eyed senior deckhand spotted some blows and we were soon on scene with a gray whale. We got some amazing views as the whale fed in the shallows near Samish Island and started to move off toward Guemes Island. We loved spending time with this gray whale, and it was a great reminder that we can see whales at any point during our adventures!

-Naturalist Tyson