Lake Washington, Ferdinand St. launch - Canoe/Kayak Trips on Waymarking.com

I have launched from here a handful of times. It has always been a lovely experience with no hassle.

Our usual route is to head towards the Seward park peninsula. Here is some text from the park's site: Within the Seattle city limits, Seward park boasts 300 acres of beautiful forest land - home to eagles' nests, old growth forest, a 2.4 mile bike and walking path, an amphitheater, a native plant garden, an art studio, miles of hiking trails, and more.

So we like to skirt the peninsula on which the park sits, and this allows us some poeple-watching, AND allows the walkers and hikers and bikers some kayak-watching.

We have seen float planes, speed boats, water skiers and other water enthusiasts out here.

A nice and easy alternative is to paddle over to Mercer Island, which takes less than 20 minutes from one edge of the Seward park peninsula.

Parking/put-in/launching information: Free parking in a well-maintained lot is just a few feet from the coordinates posted. It is a very short walk to the water from the vehicle. Special lanes have been provided so cars can be closer to the water as you load/unload. The actual launch is on a pleasant gravel beach. Paddling conditions to be expected: Lake Washington is a very large body of water (21,500 acres), so you can expect weather-dependent variation in conditions. All the times I have dared to go out as a novice kayaker have been calm, with 12" or much smaller waves. Always expect rain. It is the Pacific Northwet, after all. Difficulty of the trip: Novice on up. Length of trip: We took a leisurely 3 hours. Portages: none Permits required: None required. Type of trip: This is an easy roundtrip to make. It can even be spur-of-the-moment for those who live close enough. It takes less than half a day, unless you woudl like to bring a picnic and make it a longer trip. Other information: park web page: http://www.seattle.gov/Parks/environment/seward.htm additional information beyond the park's web page: http://www.sewardpark.org/ Take-out Coordinates: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
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Date Logged Log User Rating   02/05/2022 Rock Chalk visited it