Looking to paddle in Seattle? Everyone's Travel Club is here for you and we've put together a quick Seattle paddling top ten! Whether you plan to stand up paddle board, canoe, or kayak, these destinations are sure to please. Need more info? All of the linked words in the paragraphs below take you directly to an ETC post or video related to the destination. Enjoy!
   ~Paul   ETC

If you have only a few days to paddle in Seattle, the most bang for your buck is exploring the Washington Park Arboretum near Seattle's University District (go Huskies!). In this still-water wildlife refuge you'll paddle through narrow, peaceful waterways, trees overhead, and feel like you're in the jungle. It's the urban Everglades. Need a boat? Rent it from the UW WAC boat house nearby. 

A Shilshole Bay paddle surrounds you with some of the best parts of Seattle - mountains, beach, the Puget Sound, sailboats, sea-life, and a great neighborhood nearby. Golden Gardens is the place to be for beach goers once the sun finally comes out in the summer. Sailboats fill the docks at Shilshole Marina. After a paddle exploring sea-life close-up at low tide, head into the nearby hood (called Ballard) for food, shopping, concerts, and sight-seeing. Use the public parking and boat ramp at the North end of the marina to launch. Check the tides/weather before you go and watch out for boat traffic. Make sure to spy dead Leif and the sea serpent chillin' on the breakwater!

Tour some Sleepless in Seattle houseboats and enjoy great city views. Pull your boat up on the dock at Ivar's Seafood house for some local seafood. Watch seaplanes land and take off, heading to the San Juan Islands and beyond. Parking can be tricky at the south end of the lake, although there is a great launch site. We prefer the sunnyside boat ramp on the north end. Need a boat? Aqua Verde Cafe & Paddle Club is the place to rent kayaks (and eat burritos) in this area. 

Nothing beats the feel of paddling on Lake Washington. After trips in the saltwater, the no-tides freshwater here is always a welcoming change. On the north end of the lake, Matthews Beach Park is a great place to launch with Sand Point to the south and St. Edward Park across the lake to the East. Like we said, no tides to worry about here, just watch out for wind & boat traffic and bring your bathing suit in the summer. 

Our favorite place to paddle and launch in the south is Andrews Bay, right next to Seward Park. A favorite anchorage for sailboats overnighting on the lake, Andrews Bay is the perfect launch site with concrete steps right down to the water. From there, paddle around the sizable old growth forest park peninsula that is Seward Park. When you get to the other side to take out - you're pretty much back where you started!

Talk about city views. Launch near Salty's seafood restaurant (maybe hit their great happy hour first). Paddling north from there, turn the corner and cruise the Southern California- like Alki Beach. Restaurants, boat rental places, and shopping line the street, often crowded with skateboarders, beach goers, and rollerbladers. For a longer paddle, keep going and you'll pass the Alki Point lighthouse and eventually hit the heavily wooded Lincoln Park to the south. Watch the tides/weather and don't let the summer vibe cloud common sense - the water you're paddling in is chilly all year! 

The Lake Washington ship canal connects the freshwater lakes of Lake Washington and Lake Union to the saltwater Puget Sound. The Fremont/U District portion takes you through the historic Montlake Cut, the finish-line for the nationally known Husky crew teams. It also gives you access to the Arboretum (to the east), Ivar's Seafood restaurant, downtown views on Lake Union, Gasworks Park on the north end of the lake, and you're close to the self- proclaimed "Center of the Universe" - the quirky village-like neighborhood of Fremont. A good launch site for a full-day paddle is the 14th Ave boat ramp in Ballard, kinda between the Ballard Fred Meyer and Trader Joe's. Park for free, launch, and head east. 

Launching from the 14th Ave. boat ramp and heading west takes you towards the Fishermen's Terminal and the Ballard Locks. Paddle next to giants at the Terminal - some of the fishing boats and their crews here are the stars of the popular television show "Deadliest Catch". Pull over at the public dock on the west end of the marina and enjoy breakfast at the popular Bay Cafe. Leave the Terminal heading west  a little more and you'll get a view of boats leaving and entering the freshwater through the Ballard Locks. Don't get too close, it's a busy place for boats of all sizes. Want to kayak to a spa? Try the "Habitude launch site" nearby.

The largest city park in Seattle also happens to be surrounded by water. If you are lucky enough to score a parking spot close to the West Point lighthouse, you can launch from there. Carrying an inflatable? Hike through the woods to multiple beaches. A better idea? Launch from the Point Shilshole "surfer beach" - across the water on the Ballard side, just south of the Shilshole Marina and across from Paseo (great Caribbean sandwiches). 

Journey to Seattle's central park to soak up the rays (in the summer at least!) and paddle a few laps around Greenlake. Parking, equipment rental in the summer, and possible launch sites are on almost all sides of the lake. Look for some more secluded spots on the west side of the lake where there is also a nice kayak dock at the rowing center (and parking close to launch). 

   It happens every year - the 'June gloom'. Then, all of a sudden, July 5th hits and pow - sun. While the rest of the country is roasting, Seattle settles in to highs of 75-80 and lows in the mid 50s...sweeet.
   -Paul, Amber, Vic ETC

   I've always wanted to leave the homeland of Golden Gardens and paddle North...the idea that you'd hit the Pacific pretty quick is a big thought. Well, I didn't make it that far but I had a great Super Bowl Sunday (there was a game?) paddling from Kingsley, at home in Shilshole Marina (Seattle), North to the town of Edmonds, WA.

   This was how the day started, wind = 0. I left with a slow incoming tide (against me). I checked the tide charts before I left, you should too if you paddle this. It turned to slack tide pretty quick, which was still nice, but then later on as the tide was heading out the wind picked up from the North making some little waves (wind coming in, tide going out). Moral of the story, if you are new to the club and paddling where tides matter, check the chart before you go...along with the wind forecast!

   The best part of the paddle is about at halfway (maybe a little bit after) as you reach Point Wells. I had always seen the pier and buildings here while sailing but never knew much about the place.

   After doing a little research it turns out -  (1) It is an asphalt plant in Shoreline/Woodway (read about it on the city website here). (2) It's right on the railroad tracks. (3) It is private property and only accessible by one road. (4) There is a nice beach just North of the place. (5) Behind the nice beach is 'Sherwood Forest'...according to Google Maps (6) This nice beach may or may not be used as a nude beach...and there may or may not have been a 'World Naked Beach Party' here in 2005 [check the info here (clean)] (7) The whole site will probably be turned into a condo/beach/urban center in the coming years.

   Tennis-balls in the water means one thing in the Northwest - we're almost there (and there is a beach dog park at our destination)! The trip only took about 3 hours (one-way) with almost the right tidal direction, some of the wrong wind direction, and paddling my usual inflatable kayak...next up, Edmonds to Everett?
   ~Paul   ETC

P.S. - Check out a post from last summer when we stayed in Edmonds and paddled around the marina!

Originally posted by Everyone's Travel Club March 16th, 2010.

3/16/10
Ahoy!  Everyone's Travel Club returns to Seattle! Last Saturday I took a quick trip from one Seattle park on the Puget Sound (salt water and tides) to another - Golden Gardens to Carkeek. It was cold. It was windy. I found a great way to save money while owning a sailboat!

Golden Gardens...not too Golden today...Brrrr.

What do we have here?

Almost sunken ship!

Here's a great little kayak entrance to Carkeek...Time to deflate...I made it! The trip took about 45 mins with the wind was at my back [and who knows what the tide was doing].

The Olympic Mountains from Golden Gardens the next day.  No wind.  Warm.  Low tide...Maybe I should have waited...

See, you can save money and own a sailboat:) [except the cost of removal...which goes to the owner...oops]
~Paul  E.T.C.

P.S. -