Lake Washington

June 6, 2015 we did a student paddle in Lake Washington launching from Concrete Beach just north of the mountaineers building. We paddled a loop first going south around sand point, cross to hunts point, north along the Kirkland shoreline, then cross to Juanita Point and back to Sand Point (we skipped Juanita for time). This route gives 8 miles paddling with two crossings. There are several places for bathroom breaks along the Kirkland waterfront. There is a similar loop that can be done do the north.

There are some advantages of doing student paddles here and some disadvantages. There is plenty of parking and launching is easy. Water is not too cold and I think this makes people more willing to get in. There are several parks to stop at and several have bathrooms.

On warm summer weekend days there are a lot of boats out on the water. The boats power around and create waves and noise. The waves provide a sense of active water and I think most students found that an interesting challenge. The constant noise made communication more difficult. I would not paddle in Lake Washington on a warm summer weekend again. At 7am on a weekday morning this is a very nice paddle.

We launched at 10am. In the future I will launch at 8am. More time paddling in the peaceful morning, lunch break come earlier when people need it, and there is more time in the day if pace is slow.