A trip of a lifetime, all expectations were exceeded, thank you for the lasting memories.
Happy Anniversary – 2024 will be our 35th season of exploring Haida Gwaii!
2026 OSK will be paddling the West Coast of Graham Island, the Largest Island on Haida Gwaii with 6 experienced kayakers.
The sum of the journey is the collection of events and memories. You don’t complete a marathon in one stride, but in a series of steps. This is my mindset as I launch into my day on the West Coast.
With each passing trip, my appreciation grows for the Haida canoe. With plentiful food and towering evergreens on Haida Gwaii, the Haida would have time and resources to develop a boat like no other in the region. Their canoes were the only ones capable of crossing the 60 miles of Hecate Strait between Haida Gwaii and the coast, allowing them to raid and trade with mainland villages – without fear of counterattack – and range from present-day Alaska to Vancouver.
Words like flexibility, patience, solitude, vastness, respect, energy, and uniqueness instantly come to mind when thinking about a West Coast paddle.
It seems like our daily routine is becoming cluttered with gadgets for convenience, while life itself is getting busier and filled with plenty of distractions. Meanwhile, nature provides us with the discomforts and challenges that we are seeking on such a trip.
Over the years, OSK guests have successfully circumnavigated Graham Island, the largest island in Haida Gwaii, over a 19-day journey. Guests have also safely completed, on many occasions, a 10-day adventure down the west coast to Englefield Bay, Haida Gwaii’s largest defined Bay on our West Coast Explorer – Daawuuxusda or The Kunghit Warrior which explores the southernmost island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago – Kunghit Island.
We look forward to exploring the natural wonders and cultural treasures of Haida Gwaii with you.
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.
This trip will be offered in 2025 – Details to follow early 2024…
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.
2026 Kayak Vacations
Anniversary Sale – We have extended our 2024 prices into 2025 for you to Enjoy !
Review all Haida Gwaii Kayak Tour Dates
Click Here – For details on wildlife, highlights, and geographical locations 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.
This tour is offered to a maximum group of 6 experienced kayakers. This is a very remote tour, where guests must wear drysuits, and have a flexible mindset to accommodate mother nature.
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
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.
