Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's killer whales (T49As)
Steller sea lions
Harbor seals
Bald eagles

August 20, 2026 | 10 AM Whale Watch

10 AM

What a gorgeous morning we had out on the Salish sea! Flat calm water, blue skies, and some nice heat from the sun. We left the dock with some on-shore reports of possible whales near San Juan Island. So that decided our route quickly for us! We left and headed South into Rosario Strait. We did a slow down to view some harbor seals and nesting cormorants on top of Bird Rocks. Then, we picked up speed and pointed towards Colville Island where we saw two Mature Bald Eagles hanging out right next to each other on top of the Wild life Refuge sign. After hearing from our buddies on another boat that they had acquired the rumored whales near by, we were able to slow down and check out some resting Steller Sea lions on top of Whale rocks and some fighting in the waters near by the rocks. We turned through Cattle Pass and caught up with the T49A’s as they were crossing the pass and heading towards Shaw Island quickly. We watched these whales hug the shore line, cruise through the bull kelp forests and we even saw the little guy in the mix (T49A7) spy hop! Eventually we decided to depart the T49A’s and see what other wildlife we could find. As we approached Turn Rock, we searched hard and were able to find a Sea Otter just outside of the bull kelp feeding on an Urchin. As we turned into Thatcher Pass saw some great looks at the Washington State Ferries on our cruise home. It was a beautiful end to a cruise full of wildlife!

-Clare