Port Angeles Harbor Sea Kayaking

Kayaking around Port Angeles offers an experience paddling around one of the busiest ports on the Olympic Peninsula, home to the Coast Guard Air Station on the eastern end of Ediz Hook. You'll have views of the Olympic Mountains, harbor seals, and a wide variety of birds.

In 1791, Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza dubbed the area "Puerto de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles" (Port of Our Lady of the Angels). The name of the deep harbor was shortened to Port Angeles one year later by British Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver. The first American settlers arrived in the mid-1850s, and under the guidance of Victor Smith, Port Angeles became the second American city officially laid out by the U.S. Government (Washington D.C. being the first). Today the city serves as a major logging port.

The 3-mile-long Ediz Spit is an excellent launch point for a kayaking adventure in and around the harbor. Notable attractions in the bay are the Coast Guard Station at the far end of the spit. South of the Coast Guard Base is Hollywood Beach and Port Angeles City Pier, which are excellent spots to disembark, have lunch, and explore the city. Continuing east is the rest of the city's occasionally busy waterfront that ends with the Nippon Industries Paper Plant. Curious harbor seals are known to accompany kayakers around the harbor.