Mission Statement
"Olympic Kayak Tours LLC provides the highest quality sea kayaking eco-adventures. We have a commitment to excellence in safety, fun for the customer, environmental and wildlife sensitivity, customer service and providing an educational experience. We seek to raise awareness that wildlife are subjects and not objects, with priorities of their own. We seek to inspire a love of nature and wildlife with joyful and exciting sea kayak adventures!"
History
Olympic Kayak Tours began life in 2017 as "Kayak Nisqually" founded by Sam Kaviar in the Nisqually Delta near Olympia, WA. Sam had previously been an expedition sea kayak guide in the San Juan Islands & had worked as a (sometimes kayak propelled) researcher in the Nisqually Delta studying salmon habitat restoration. Sam founded the company intending to show and educate about wildlife and advocate for the local environment. One night that first summer Sam was out on the water with some friends and the bioluminescence was going strong and he wondered if his customers might also be interested in seeing the 'lume. Since then he has developed his own method for predicting bioluminescence that has been over 98% successful since 2017 & 100% successful since 2020.
In December 2019 Sam moved from the Nisqually Delta to the Port Townsend area & in summer 2020 opened Olympic Kayak Tours LLC in Fort Flagler State Park. In 2022 Olympic Kayak Tours introduced unguided rentals of kayaks and paddleboards to the general public (as opposed to only renting to those with specialized sea kayaking certifications & background). In 2023 Olympic Kayak Tours was invited into Fort Worden State Park and now has operations with both Fort Flagler & Fort Worden.