Quick Details
Let’s Go Camping and Paddling at Sucia Island!
Enjoy a scenic ferry ride to Orcas Island in the heart of the San Juan Islands where we will launch our kayaks for 3 days of exploration. We will paddle to Sucia Island (weather dependent) and set up a base camp from which to enjoy a variety of interesting day paddles as well as glorious sunsets and the potential to visit Matia Island by sea kayak.
For our 4 day and 5 day trips, we will launch from Gooseberry Point and enjoy a scenic, quiet paddle out to Sucia and the Outer Islands, exploring all the nooks and crannies along the way.
Multi-day kayaking are true vacation adventures! We will learn about the sculpted geology that forms our beautiful archipelago, explore diverse inter-tidal life, look from the bow of our boat for marine mammals, wander the walking trails and so much more. Sucia Island is the first and only place that dinosaur bones have been discovered in Washington State, so who knows what we could find! Sucia Island is a wonderful place to explore as you can not take a state ferry to any of the Islands that we will camp on.
No previous paddling experience is necessary. Paddlers from novice to experienced are welcome and there will be something for everyone, but you will need to be in good physical shape and be able to sit in a boat for long periods of time. Must be able to paddle for up to 3 hours at a time. A detailed gear list will be sent to you once you have reserved your trip. For a general outline on what to pack please check our website’s Gear List
Have all the camping gear already and just need a kayak guide? No problem! We offer fully-catered or non-catered options to work with your budget and preferences. Read below to see what is best for you. If you have any questions or want to customize your trip, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we love helping your adventure dreams come true!
More Info
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- All meals on the entire trip cooked and prepared by your lovely guides
- Morning Coffee and Tea
- An awesome kayak guide to keep you safe and informed on the water, share their local knowledge and expertise of the beautiful areas we explore
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- Suggested meals to keep you fueled on your trip. Camp stove rentals optional.
- An awesome kayak guide to keep you safe and informed on the water, share their local knowledge and expertise of the beautiful areas we explore
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- Sea-worthy Northwest tandem fiberglass sea kayaks
- Werner Sea Kayak Paddles
- PFD’s
- Bilge Pump
- Dry bags (for clothing and personal items)
- Detailed Packing List
- Fun, knowledgeable sea kayak guides
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- Day 1: Group Meets @ North Beach on Orcas Island. Meet group/guides, pack boats, organize gear, and safety discussion.
Launch and paddle to first night’s camp. Evening dinner at sunset with a campfire and s’mores to follow. - Day 2: (weather dependent) Circumnavigate Sucia Island taking breaks to explore the beautiful scenery and wildlife, stopping for lunch mid way through. Dinner back at camp, optional group games, fire chat, relax, with potential for a night paddle or sunset paddle in one of the protected bays of Sucia.
- Day 3: Morning paddle back to North Beach by 11:00am. De-issue gear, good-bye’s, off to catch the ferry or explore more of Orcas Island. So long for now!
- Day 1: Group Meets @ North Beach on Orcas Island. Meet group/guides, pack boats, organize gear, and safety discussion.
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North Beach, Orcas Island. Detailed driving directions will be sent out in trip packet.
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*Multi-day trips requires a minimum of 2 people to run a trip to meet our on water safety guidelines.
Requirements: Our multi-day sea kayaking tours are best suited for folks in reasonably good shape as we often can paddle 8-12 miles in a day. Although extremely rare, in case of an accidental capsize, it is best if you are able to tread water and do not have a heart condition as the water can be extremely cold. All our guides are trained professionally on rescues and although proficient in the task, for safety we need to know you will be able to help assist your guide in re-entering your boat by following their instructions with a good bill of health and moderate strength. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions regarding any requirements. All guests will sign a liability waiver and health form prior to multi-day trips. Helping guides move boats sometimes is necessary and we thank you in advance in assisting if you are willing and able to do so. If this does not sound like the trip you signed up for please get ahold of us immediately so we can customize a trip that sounds right for you.
Here at Moondance we aren’t strict on much besides safety and high quality trips. In order to continue to provide the service our guests have come to expect and deserve, we need to know that you will show up. Once you book a trip with us your reservations are protected. We never overbook our kayak trips and count on our guest to show up. We understand that unforeseen circumstances do arise so please follow the cancellation timeline below if you know you won’t be able to make it.
We are committed to providing you with the high quality experience that you deserve and the individual attention that we strive to provide as a small business. Therefore, we strongly advise you purchase travel insurance to protect yourself in the event that you cannot make the trip.