Anacortes Puffin Cruise to Smith & James Islands

This cruise runs on two scheduled dates in July and August during the peak of Smith Island’s Tufted Puffin summer nesting season. Because it’s offered on two specific dates rather than a recurring weekly schedule, it fills up well in advance — booking as early as possible in the season is recommended if seeing the puffins on this specific trip matters to your travel plans. Check the current tour page for this year’s exact date before finalizing other travel around it.

Several companies run puffin-viewing trips in these waters, but they differ in a few important ways. Some Port Townsend-based cruises alternate between Protection Island and Smith Island depending on the captain’s read of conditions on the day, meaning a Smith Island puffin colony visit isn’t always guaranteed. This cruise is built specifically around Smith Island. It also departs from Anacortes rather than Bellingham or Port Townsend, which is more convenient if you’re driving up from Seattle or other surrounding areas. Most importantly, this cruise pairs the wildlife viewing with a two-hour stop at James Island Marine State Park for more birding and a picnic lunch on the beach — most competing puffin cruises are boat-only with no island landing, since public access to Smith Island itself is prohibited to protect the nesting colony.

Yes, Smith Island is the specific destination for this cruise, home to roughly 30 nesting pairs of Tufted Puffins between April and September. As with any wildlife viewing, individual bird sightings can’t be guaranteed since puffins are wild animals going about their day, but the cruise route is built around this colony rather than a variable choice made on the water.

Yes. The activity level is rated easy, and the entire wildlife-viewing portion takes place from the comfort of the boat rather than requiring any hiking or climbing. The stop at James Island includes short, easy walking paths and shaded picnic tables, with no strenuous activity required. Public access to Smith Island itself is prohibited, so no landing or walking is involved there at all.

Group size runs 12 to 20 guests, larger than Skagit Guided Adventures’ land-based tours, which cap at six. This is still notably smaller than the 40-passenger vessels used by some competing puffin cruises out of Bellingham and Anacortes, striking a middle ground between an intimate outing and a full-capacity charter boat.

No. Unlike Skagit Guided Adventures’ land-based tours, the Puffin Cruise does not include pickup service from Anacortes, La Conner, Mount Vernon, or Burlington. The cruise departs directly from Anacortes, so guests need to make their own way to the meeting point at the marina.

The 4-hour cruise travels the exposed waters around Fidalgo, Lopez, and Whidbey Islands to reach the Smith and Minor Islands Aquatic Reserve, Washington’s largest designated aquatic reserve and home to the state’s largest bull kelp bed. Along with Tufted Puffins, guests commonly spot other alcids, seabirds, shorebirds, and raptors, and should stay alert for orcas, porpoises, seals, and river otters that also frequent these waters. The trip also passes scenic views of Mount Baker, the North Cascades, and the Olympic Mountains from the water.

Following the wildlife-viewing portion, the cruise includes a two-hour stop at James Island Marine State Park, a secluded island reachable only by boat. Guests can enjoy a leisurely lunch on the beach or at shaded picnic tables, with panoramic island views, and explore short, easy walking paths at their own pace before reboarding.

Yes. The Smith and Minor Islands Aquatic Reserve is one of the more reliable spots in Washington State to photograph Tufted Puffins in their breeding plumage, along with a range of other seabirds and marine mammals. Because public access to Smith Island is prohibited, all photography happens from the boat, so a zoom lens is worth bringing if you have one.

Bring binoculars and a camera for wildlife viewing, along with lunch and water for the James Island stop, since food isn’t included in the tour price. Comfortable walking or tennis shoes work well for the easy paths on James Island, and weather-appropriate layers are recommended since conditions on open water can be cooler and windier than on land. Toilet paper or a baggie is worth packing, since island facilities are a vault toilet.

Yes. Guests building a longer Skagit Valley or Anacortes itinerary sometimes pair this cruise with the Anacortes “Wild Side” Eco Tour or the Anacortes Guided Hike earlier in the same trip, turning a single cruise into a full weekend of Anacortes-area nature touring.

The tour price includes the guided cruise, naturalist commentary from Stephanie throughout the trip, and the two-hour stop at James Island Marine State Park. Lunch, taxes and fees, and gratuity are not included, so bring a packed lunch to enjoy during the James Island stop.