Happy Anniversary! In 2024, we will be celebrating our 35th season of exploring Haida Gwaii.
Our relaxed expedition is tailored to kayakers who want to explore the majority of Gwaii Haanas National Park/ Reserve. During the trip, you will have ample time to discover the old growth forests, view endless intertidal wonders, explore new campsites, and paddle to places that few have experienced before. Our shoreline is diverse and features sea caves, estuaries, vast beaches, and intimate islands. We choose our campsites for their solitude and grand views, which can be old homesteads, ancient Haida villages, or old growth forests.
One of the highlights of our trip is a visit to the village of SGang Gwaay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After being abandoned for 120 years, a row of standing totem poles still remains as evidence of this once flourishing culture. SGang Gwaay boasts the largest number of original standing totem poles in the WORLD!
If you can’t make it in person, take a virtual tour.
We paddle through corridors where we are most likely to encounter wildlife. The nutrient-rich waters of Gwaii Haanas support an abundance of marine life, including the always entertaining Humpback and Minke whales, and the occasional pod of Killer Whales.
The many islands en route are home to a variety of seabird colonies, and there are several well-established Stellar Sea Lion and seal haulouts to enjoy as well. This is a true expedition-style trip that moves camp daily.
Reviewing the Tour Map allows guests the opportunity to get familiar with the highlights, wildlife, and geographical locations of the tour. The goals of our Haida Gwaii kayak trips are to be fun, engaging, educational, and relaxing.
Kayaking Gwaii Haanas – Haida Gwaii is a true wilderness experience and requires a flexible mindset to travel safely in a self-propelled vessel. This is a self-supported kayak tour, which uses a mixed fleet of kayaks for your convenience, confidence and enjoyment. The success of the tour depends on weather, tides, guest interests, and the overall ability of the group. No one person (guides included) can have any control over such variables.
Below is an itinerary, created from over two decades of travel thru Gwaii Haanas, that guests have enjoyed. That said, it is your tour, and you may have your own personal bucket list to check off, so OSK will try to facilitate any deviations from the below schedule.
Day 1 Your tour starts with our friends from Moresby Explorers picking you up at your accommodations in K’il Kun (Sandspit), the location of the island’s main airport. They will transport you by Zodiac to a remote camp, where your Gwaii Haanas kayaking tour will begin by setting up camp in Skincuttle Inlet. The afternoon will be spent kayaking and getting familiar with our mixed fleet of single and double kayaks.
Days 2 – 6/8: 
Skincuttle inlet, is sheltered from the open waters of Hecate Strait by a chain of Islands known as the Copper and Bolkus Islands. These islands are Ecological Reserves creating habitat for the Cassin’s Auklet, Forked-tailed Storm-Petrel, Marbled Murrelet, and the Ancient Murrelet, an at-risk species.
There will be ample time throughout our journey to explore old growth forests and experience cultural sites where fish weirs, canoe runs, or CMT’s (Cultural Modified Trees) of a time long ago are in evidence. We will do a day trip from our camp to view Burnaby Narrows, coinciding with low tide.
Burnaby Narrows is one of two Marine Ecological Reserves found within Gwaii Haanas National Park. The Reserve was founded to protect the fragile marine ecosystem and to protect the Northern Abalone- a species that is listed as endangered. In 1990, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) put a total ban on stocks that had reached near-crash during the commercial fishing heyday of the 1970s and 1980s.
Studies conducted by Parks Canada determined that there are more than 290 aquatic species, and found that bat stars were counted at a density of 74 per square meter, (in contrast to a survey done on Vancouver Island that found just seven per square meter), meaning this area has some of the highest levels of living material (called Biomass) of any intertidal zone in the world!
We will explore the inlet and then kayak south across Ikeda Cove and Collison Bay, both known for their mineral extraction and canneries at the turn of the century. We then come upon the Rankin Islands, another Ecological Reserve found on this tour, which are home to the Rhinoceros and Cassin Auklet seabirds. 
The open waters and currents around Benjamin Point create ideal conditions for plankton, krill and herring, attracting a plethora of wildlife. Whales, seals, sea lions, and birds, some that are not often found in the northern waters of Gwaii Haanas, congregate here.
Using the tides to our advantage provides efficient travel towards the sheltered waters of Houston Stewart Channel and the homestead of Rose Harbor. From 1905 to 1942 this was a flourishing whaling station. Rose Harbor now has a population of four hardy west coast characters. Today, this special place offers rustic accommodations and excellent local cuisine for travelers, which we will experience later on our kayak trip.
Kayaking westward through the channel brings us to one of the highlights of this tour, the village of SGang Gwaay. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located
on Anthony Island. This island jewel boasts the largest number of original standing totem poles in the world! Guests will have the opportunity to view Stellar Sea Lions and seals that haul out on the many islets surrounding the island.
We paddle out into open ocean just a short distance but the vast coastline usually sends tingles through even the seasoned visitor, and the underlying Pacific Ocean sets the rhythm for the day.
Take a virtual tour of SGang Gwaay.
Throughout your journey, you will kayak corridors that provide ample feed for migrating Humpback whales. A Humpback will consume over 1.5 tons (1,361 kg) of food a day. While the female is slightly larger than the male (45- 50 feet), these whales are capable of breeching their entire 40 tons completely out of the water – a sight never to be forgotten!
Days 7/8 Leaving our west coast camp we will explore an established bird colony, with Tufted Puffins and a possible sighting of the well-dressed Horned Puffin. Our final night will be spent in Houston Stewart Channel, while on. our final day, we will enjoy a morning paddle amongst the many islands and islets found in the channel. The afternoon is spent preparing for your return to your accommodations in Sandspit.
2025 Kayak Vacations
We have extended our 2024 Anniversary Prices into the 2025 season for you to Enjoy!
2026 Early Bird Sale
Introducing people to Haida Gwaii has been our specialty since 1989. Why settle for second best?
Designed with you in mind, OSK is offering our 2026 tours at the following prices for a limited time.
Review all Haida Gwaii Kayak Tour Dates
Click Here – For details on wildlife, highlights, and geographical location regarding this tour.
Below is an overview, created from over two decades of travel through Gwaii Haanas, that guests have enjoyed. Kayaking Gwaii Haanas – Haida Gwaii is a true wilderness and requires a flexible mindset to travel safely in a self-propelled kayak. The success of the tour depends on the weather, tides, guests’ interests, and the overall ability of the group. No one person, including guides, has no control over such variables.
The perfect vacation looks different for everyone, so it’s important to ask yourself some initial questions when planning a trip to Haida Gwaii.
Please take note that Ocean Sound Kayaking does not accept direct online bookings.
Instead, we prefer to communicate with our guests over the phone when possible. This allows us to introduce ourselves, answer any questions you may have about designing the perfect trip for you, or about Haida Gwaii in general. Additionally, this process allows OSK to create a cohesive group well before we even meet on Haida Gwaii.
This is what sets us apart – the OSK difference.
We have been introducing people of all ages, abilities, from around the world to Haida Gwaii for the past 30 years, and we want to ensure that all our guests have a clear understanding of our trips before we start, so that your expectations are met.
Personal Fitness
First and foremost, it’s important to note that age is just a number to us. We see that you are an adventurous soul who seeks intrinsic wilderness experiences, and that’s exactly what we aim to provide. If you’re in good physical condition and willing to share in occasional camp chores, you’re welcome on our tours.
We travel in a self-propelled mix fleet of single and double sea kayaks, without any support boat on any of our kayak tours. Kayak experience isn’t required, but we ask that guests feel comfortable around water. More important than your paddling skill is your past camping experience, which will assist you greatly in ensuring your comfort in a remote wilderness setting like Haida Gwaii.
Lifting and Carrying
To make any trip successful, all guests must participate in the daily chores and contribute to the overall team environment, such as food cache, meal prep and clean up, setting up camp, collecting firewood, and drinking water. We can accommodate guests with physical limitations in this department, but we expect guests to be able to carry up to 20-30 pounds, as kayaks must be placed above the high tide line nightly in teams of 6-8 people.
Toilets
There are no outhouse facilities throughout Gwaii Haanas. We use low-impact practices such as the “intertidal flush,” which is a standard set by Parks Canada for all kayakers in Gwaii Haanas. Your guide will brief you on this practice and present a private area for the group washroom at each rest stop and campsite.
Bathing and Water
Many of our chosen camps have a freshwater source to collect water and take a bath. Your guides will create the boundaries along with a private location for guests. The kayak tour can carry 110 liters of water to sites that do not have a suitable or reliable water supply. Non-scented wet wipes are handy items around camp as they are convenient and easy.
OSK Principles
Our goal is to offer a wilderness experience that will remove you from your everyday distractions, replacing cell phones with solitude, and streetlights with stars. Let’s keep the wild, “WILD.” With this in mind, it’s our responsibility to travel through Haida Gwaii with an ethical approach. Haida Gwaii is known as the “Galapagos of the Pacific Northwest” and can offer some incredible wildlife experiences. Your guide will provide you with a trip orientation on day one, a Parks Canada requirement for all Gwaii Haanas guests. The orientation is to offer insight into the Haida Culture, the sensitivity of Ecological Reserves, and to deliver awareness of how our tours will practice industry standards regarding low-impact camping and wildlife encounters.
The OSK Team has designed a few tutorials for you.
A compressive Trip Planner and further videos will be presented to all guest once registered on a tour with Ocean Sound Kayaking, referencing over 30 years of questions and answers.