The team at Orcas Bikes was very accommodating and helpful! Our group of 8 people walked up and…read morewanted to rent their Mopeds, they had just enough to get us on our adventure! They made signing waivers and payments easy and explaining how the bikes worked was smooth. We had an absolute blast driving around the island. We did the 4 hour rental and it was the perfect amount of time. I would recommend Orcas Bikes to anyone as the best way to see the island!

Our experience at Orcas Bikes was very easy and enjoyable. The woman who assisted us was very nice…read moreand informative. She taught us how to use the bikes and places that we could travel to. The bikes and helmets were in very good condition Overall I would return again, the map she gave us was very helpful and the woman was very nice and informative .

The trip with paddle board host was fantastic! The location and timing were carefully chosen to…read moreminimize the wind and waves, the host Ava was super nice!

Great experience stand up paddle boarding with Ava. Super knowledgeable, friendly, and a great…read moreinstructor. I highly recommend if you are ever in the Bellingham area!

Plan ahead. Cash only. There is an ATM at KeyBank up the road. No bathroom nearby. This is a small…read morehike from town, so I would recommend driving. It was quick and easy for us to get out on the water. We had a good time.

My family and I have now enjoyed the folks at Crescent Beach for several years. We've gone in large…read moreand small groups from ages 10 to 68. A gorgeous place to paddle around and enjoy the waters of Eastsound. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for some time in nature. Both Dave and Joan are very knowledgeable and generous with their experience and local happenings such as whale sitings, wildlife spotting and latest goings on with the "locals". Can't wait to take the family back out.

We really enjoyed our kayaking trip. We thought our guide Brandon was rather unprofessional…read morecomplaining about trips and not being helpful assisting others who had reservation errors. He also would not allow the single experienced kayaker in our group to take a solo kayak for the trip even after that had been arranged with Amy on the phone that morning. We had a groupon deal and they insisted on charging us tax on top of our prepaid groupon. This was not mentioned anywhere in the fine print on our groupon.

What a fun bioluminescence kayak experience! Caleb as our main lead was awesome. Super experience!read more

Did a bioluminescence tour with Brooke & Nellie out of Semiahoo (their north location). It was…read moreabsolutely fabulous! Nothing more magical than seeing the glow as you dip your hands and paddles in the water. Views of White Rock, BC at night across the bay & spyhopping seals added to the beauty of paddling at night. Many thanks also to Tori for her timely communication & recommendations for dining along the way! Recommend booking in advance as it they tend to fill up quickly.

I had such a great experience at Island Strength Movement! The InBody assessment was incredibly…read moreeye-opening, but what really stood out was Robyn's personalized coaching. She gave me simple, practical changes I can incorporate into everyday life that can make a big impact over time. I left feeling informed, motivated, and empowered to make meaningful changes. Highly recommend Island Strength Movement!

In 1985 a geology professor came up with the concept of types of fun which is a scale that outdoor…read moreenthusiasts use today. Type 1 is experiencing fun in the moment. Type 2 is looking back on a strenuous experience which was not fun in the moment but fun in retrospect. Type 3 is zero fun. No fun in the moment and no fun in retrospect. I just came back from the AAI alpinism 1 course and this was definitely type 2 fun. The course for a true novice like me is designed to take you out of your comfort zone and experience something radically different from what you are used to. Although it was quite strenuous for me, looking back on it, I'd do it again. Before you tackle this course, don't do what I did to train. Most of my time was in the gym, doing heavy leg and back work. While this is useful, a better approach would have been to practice hiking up hill with a pack. This is the strategy that one of my team mates used and it makes total sense for the hiking portions of the course. I'll detail the trip: 7 am: show up early like 645 to the store. Here you will go over all your gear and get rentals. One thing I would advise is to purchase a down sleeping bag of your own to minimize weight and volume. The rental bag at the store is a mountain hardware lamina synthetic bag which is very warm but bulky and will take up a bunch of space in your pack. Most things I rented. I definitely agree with a four season double wall tent. A single wall is not a great idea in the early season. If this is your first time, rent as much as you can to see what works for you and what doesn't do you can buy your own gear later. The first day is rock climbing at Mt Erie. After the gear review at the shop, you will get into a van and carpool to Mt Erie. Having never done this before, it was fun and totally safe since you do have belay devices etc. if I could do it again, I would practice for a couple weeks on an indoor rock wall. After the first day you go to a campground and spend the night. There are showers there so take advantage while you can. The second day is the day that will really test your mettle. You drive from the campground to the trailhead area at Baker. In the early season, there will be a lot of wet heavy snow on the ground. The hike is 5-6 miles uphill (sometimes very steep) carrying a 50-60 lb pack on snowshoes. If you haven't done this before, this is where endurance training comes in. Don't take this lightly. You then make it to basecamp and set up. Third day: recovery day. You learn self arrest, rope tying, and picket anchoring for crevasse rescue. Fourth day: steep hike up to the glacier to practice crevasse rescue. This was probably one of the hardest uphill hikes I have ever done but the views were amazing. Look up some videos beforehand on crevasse rescue. Fifth day: probably a summit day if weather permits. This is an 8 hour hike from base camp to the summit. Since I was the slowest one on the hike in and up to the glacier, I opted out and hung out at basecamp to recover. Summit day is probably more unpredictable in the early season. It was raining and was overcast on the summit that day. Sixth day: hike out. This is naturally much easier and faster than the hike in. All in all, I was glad I did this. My guide was Andrew who was amazing and gave me some much needed pep talks during hiking. In fact all the guys in the course were awesome and kept me going and encouraging me to keep pushing forward. In sum, a great course if you're thinking about taking it. Just train properly with a mix of strength and endurance work and some practice rock climbing. If you do this kind of preparation, you may get closer to type 1 fun rather than type 2.

I took the Alpinism 1 course with AAI, the last course of the season. It was an amazing experience…read more We covered everything from glaciology to glacier travel, and crevasse rescue systems. Even though it was a late-season course with no snow, the guides improvised creative demonstrations for skills like snow anchors so we didn't miss out on the learning. They were patient, kind, funny, and extremely knowledgeable, creating a supportive learning environment and providing clear, helpful feedback. By the end of the course I felt confident in my ability to be a safe member of a rope team. I would 100% recommend this course to anyone interested in mountaineering.

The sailing experience aboard the Spike Africa was everything I hoped for. The entire family…read moreenjoyed the sail. The captain, first mate, and deckhand were all knowledgeable and friendly. The captain even let kiddo steer the ship for a while. Booking can be difficult if you're not standing in the office. Online booking isn't an option. When you click the link it merely has the customer fill out an information card and they're supposed to call you. If you cal the number listed you'll always be routed to an answering service. Basically customers just have to leave a message and hope someone calls you back. Even through all that, the experience was totally worth it.

Spike Africa turned one of our unplanned evenings into a delight. We were accidental guests on it…read morewhen we discovered that they had slots open for a few more when it was just about to sail. Everything about the sail was memorable. Right from the humorous introduction to sailing and water protocols to the camaraderie and warmth of the crew. First hand Chris is a very interesting person and knows how to make visitors feel involved in the sailing by drawing volunteers for stowing ropes and hoisting the mast. He is helped very ably by his crew Rosy! Captain Gunner keeps a leisurely pace allowing even the most hesitant of sea-farers to relax and take in the sights. Sunset over Pugetsound onboard Spike Africa will be one of my most-cherished moments from the San Juan Islands trip. The schooner allows for your own beverages on board and the open sea makes for an excellent place to have a sip of wine. The sail is pleasant with the added element of other like-minded strangers joining you on a ride, added to that, the very reasonable price makes for an offer hard to refuse! An evening well spent..