Community Corner

On Lake Washington, Peace, Friends, Wildlife - From the View of a Kayak, Later Celebrated With a Brew

Kirkland Patch Editor Greg Johnston goes for a paddle and shares his story with others in the Seattle area.

Mission: Explore  and its wintering trumpeter swans, coots, buffleheads, mallards and other waterfowl from the undulating waters of Lake Washington while paddling the north Kirkland shoreline, beaching at  downtown for a bite and brews.

Route: We launch at  on Holmes Point Drive and paddle the Lake Washington shoreline south and east into Juanita Bay, then south to Marina Park, where we haul out and enjoy lunch at . Then we reverse our course, but cut across the outer edge of Juanita Bay back to O.O. Denny. Find O.O. Denny Park at 12032 Holmes Point Drive. From downtown Kirkland, follow Market Street north to Juanita Drive. Go left and drive a smidge beyond two miles, taking a left on Holmes Point Drive at the light. In less than two miles, find the paved parking lot on the left. Total paddle route is about 4.5 miles.

----

Find out what's happening in Sammamish-Issaquahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

WARM WEATHER always draws people to the water, but kayaking around Kirkland is much finer during the calm of a misty winter day. The wildlife is more diverse, with wintering waterfowl on Juanita Bay in recent years even including trumpeter swans, and the powerboat traffic is never crazy like it can get in summer.

So it felt incredibly pleasant to slip our kayaks into Lake Washington at O.O. Denny Park one recent gray day, shaking off the winter dreariness and paddling into the calm waters of serenity.

Find out what's happening in Sammamish-Issaquahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Actually, paddling with us was one person on a stand-up surfboard, or SUP -- the long boards propelled by a long paddle that were first used in Hawaii by surf instructors but have now become popular here on the mainland.

Our goal was to paddle into Juanita Bay and watch the swans, cormorants, grebes, buffleheads, coots, mallards and other waterfowl that congregate there in winter – along with any bald eagles and hawks that never seem far from there -- then head south to Kirkland for lunch.

It is amazing how much waterfowl urban Lake Washington hosts in winter, and as we paddled past multimillion-dollar mansions and smaller homes along the Juanita shore, cormorants and other birds were constantly scooting aside our path.

Unbeknownst to many local paddlers, Kirkland’s shoreline is part of a “blue trail,” the Lakes to Locks Trail, designated by the Seattle-based Washington Water Trails Association (WWTA) and participating entities, including the city of Kirkland.

“We don’t have many on-shore amenities for paddlers, but certainly we know there is a blue-water trail on Lake Washington,” says Michael Cogle, Kirkland Parks planning and development manager. “We have had some influence from the city council, Kirkland being a waterfront community, that we should encourage that activity.”

There is a designated launch site for canoes, kayaks and other paddle craft at Houghton Beach Park.  There are plenty of other spots to launch in town as well. The WWTA’s Lake to Locks maps shows 10 sites, mostly at parks. A blue trail is not a path per se, but rather a series of sites at which paddlers can access the water.

We followed our own route into Juanita Bay, but were disappointed to find the trumpeter swans absent. As we sat there bobbing, watching myriad other waterfowl, speculating that perhaps because of the mild winter the swans had already moved back north, we heard a honking cackle.

We looked up to see the beautiful sight of five big white swans stretching out their wings and dropping into the bay.

Buoys just outside the wetlands of Juanita Bay Park warn boaters not to get any closer to shore, to protect wildlife and this critical habitat. Cogle said the city is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to replace them with more and better buoys, since summertime powerboat traffic in the bay is often intense.

But the warnings apply to all craft, including canoes and kayaks. You can experience the wetlands better anyway by foot on the park's boardwalks and viewing platforms.

We watched the swans and other waterfowl for a while, then paddled south along the shore to Kirkland.

OUR ROUTE could have been shorter had we launched at Juanita Beach Park, but we couldn’t because it is right now closed for redevelopment. It is scheduled to reopen late this spring or early summer, and Cogle said the city hopes to find a kayak/canoe concessionaire for the park.

Paddle craft rentals will not be available this spring/summer at Houghton Beach as in the past, Cogle said, because the concessionaire there could not make it successful.

“Juanita Beach might be more conducive to it,” he said, noting it's a more protected location not subject to the long fetch of the lake as at other spots.

We beached at Marina Park right downtown, to the amusement of a few park visitors, following to the beach a guy on another SUP who arrived from the south. I suggested we have lunch at The Slip, the tiny restaurant just above the park, since to my knowledge it is the only spot in town that serves my all-time favorite brew, the velvety textured Hales Cream Ale.

None in the party disagreed with the idea. “The Slip is the bomb!” replied Christie Pallette of Woodinville, who was paddling the SUP and is a friend of my sister, Jenifer Johnston. Both are school nurses in the Northshore School District.

Rounding out our crew was Ed Matkovic of Issaquah, an expert kayaker and my sis’ boyfriend, and my wife, Lorna, my constant and trusty outdoors companion.

We hauled the boats and board up onto the beach -- Jennifer gently scolding Ed that he didn’t have to go so far since there is no tide on the lake – and left them there while we enjoyed lunch.

Afterward, we paddled easily and uneventfully back to O.O. Denny, spotting a pair of bald eagles in a tree and chatting up a streak, warmed by the glow of a pleasant day on calm waters. Or maybe it was the Hales Cream Ale. No matter, it was a fine day to be alive.

Editor's note: is the editor of Kirkland Patch. At the Seattle Post-Intelligener, he covered the outdoors.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Sammamish-Issaquah