We have passed by this amazing place so many times, and finally stopped to check it out. It is a…read morevery easy hike through the area, suitable for all ages. The scenery is breathtaking! Highly recommend.

Deception Falls was our first hike on the Western side of the Cascade Mountains. It was barely…read moreover the ridge, but it was easy to see the contrast between the Eastern and Western sides. The Eastern side was noticeably drier, although not dry by normal standards. I would call it normal rather than dry. The Western side had moss on the trees, lichen hanging from the branches and ferns covering the forest floor. Deception Falls was the perfect place to experience it. Even the trail was soft to the touch, decades of rotting wood replenishing the soil under foot. It was a striking experience to walk on the Deception Falls trail. My wife and I both had the feeling that we were walking in a fantasy land. The trees were a new variety and covered in moss, the waters were crystal clear, and the sunlight shown through it all to accentuate the colors. I think we saw the area at the perfect time of year. If it was overcast, cold, or rainy, we would not have had the same experience. Also, the river seemed to be at full strength, forcefully pounding and shaping the rock at each section of the falls. Looking at other pictures of the river from October, the river levels fluctuate dramatically. Our falls experience would've been different if the river was a trickle rather than a torrent. I didn't see any fish in the river when we were there. A nearby sign indicated that the cold, ultra clean waters did not provide favorable conditions or sufficient food for anything other than small fish. I don't know too much about fish in northwest at this time, but it would surprise me if fish could swim up this river. If there were any fish at Deception Falls, they were stuck between the rapids, living in a calendar year that changes from high water to low water. That doesn't seem like ideal conditions for large fish. There was a bridge near the end of the trail that spanned the most forceful section of the rapids. It was a fitting climax, a moment of triumph and emotion, at the end of the trail. Standing in the center of the bridge is adrenaline inducing. Spray from the rapids hits you along with the thunderous noise of water crashing against rock. You know that the bridge will hold you yet there is a lingering thought in the back of your mind praying for the bridge to stay strong. Continuing forward, a short walk under the bridge provides more views of the water crashing down from above and more opportunities to stand in the mist.

I've rowed and been a member of Vesper BC in Philadelphia, Potomac BC in DC, Union and Cambridge in…read moreBoston. If your sole experience is a learn to row class, you may be forgiven for not knowing what a real rowing club looks like. The only rowing club in Seattle that is comparable to the best in other cities is Pocock. Its a real rowing club - not a business where you have to take a class to get in a boat. The members run the place, and the focus is on 'pulling hard, going fast, and having fun'. You can take a class if you want, and members range from beginners to Olympians. The age range is from 12 to into the 80's. The main emphasis is competition, but many members just like to row. A key distinction revolves around rigid scheduling - or not. At the PRC you can just take out a single or a double or a four with some friends on whatever schedule you want. No need to sign up for a class, again - unless you want to. Competitively - for masters - the PRC has no peer. The Junior program is excellent. People training for the Olympics in Seattle train at the PRC. The land-training facilities are far superior to what others offer. If you want a place to hold your wedding - try one of the other places. If you want a place to learn to row well or continue your rowing - this is it.

Staff is entitled and not welcoming at all. Truly disappointing. Just another uppity rowing club…read morenot looking to change. Your kids are better off elsewhere.

I was drawn to the Tehaleh Evergreen Trail Runs due to the fact that I wanted to do a double half…read moremarathon weekend, which meant one half marathon on Saturday and one half marathon on Sunday. *Crazy ain't it? But that's me and my life for a good portion of my life. The Tehaleh Evergreen Trail Runs running event is a small event that showcases and draws many seasoned trail runners, as well as experienced marathoners, to the Pacific Northwest during the last weekend in September. Typically, the weather during that time is generally cooler and makes for a great race atmosphere. To most, this race is not known to the masses, as trail races cater to the chosen few who want a cheap race but not be bothered down with big crowds, heavy logistics, and high entry fees. For those of you who love a good time and want to run a technical trail (at some spots), this may be the one for you, although there were some parts of the course that were paved, but 75% of the course is all trail. I was here for the 2015 installment of this trail race and ran the half marathon. The Tehaleh Evergreen Trail Runs offers the full marathon and a half marathon, as well as a 10K, 5K, and the kids run. I was privileged to see the kids race while waiting for the half marathon to start. Since this one is a very low key affair, they only offer race day packet pick up. They don't have any race t-shirts and don't give out finisher medals at all. I should have known that before signing up, but then again, I don't read through the fine print at times and assume that all races have finisher medals. The race starts and finishes at the Donald Eismann Elementary School in Bonney Lake. Parking here is quite plentiful, as long as you get here early enough to covet a great parking spot near the start / finish line. The race registration is as cheap as you can get and I paid $41 for the half marathon, whereas the marathon is priced at $48. Pretty darn cheap for a race, but bummed that there was no race t shirts nor finisher medals. For me, it was just 13.1 miles and on a trail no less. On some spots along the course, it felt like I was lost and in the middle of nowhere. The course was basically a loop course, where the half marathon did it once, but the marathon does it twice. The course had some hills and some uphill climbs. There was a grossly narly downhill section on the course, which was basically a 45 degree section of trail that was a challenge to get down without breaking anything. That took me a while, but at least I didn't break anything or fall down. Bonney Lake was about 30 - 45 minutes from downtown Seattle, so best believe that it takes a while to drive down to get into the trails out here. In the end, the volunteers were great and the trail was marked with orange ribbons that was tied to tree branches and signposts, so it was marked pretty well. Thank goodness I didn't get lost and the weather was comfortable and didn't get too warm. This trail race is what it is. If you love trail distance racing, this one may be the right one for you. If you like bling with your racing, it may not be the one for you. But it's just running and be glad you are out here and competing. It's a fun way to see the country and the travel is quite nice too. While I am not keen on trail racing myself, it's a nice race with fantastic organization, so I'd recommend this one, if you are chasing states and don't like the urban vibe of the Rock n Roll Seattle marathon (June) or the Seattle marathon (November). Run more! Support local! B+

Great race organization. The first race I did with ETR was my second half ever. It was up Tiger…read moreMtn. I like to look back and laugh. The next with them was this last weekend (Lake Sammamish). The runs have grown in size drastically and so have the quality. There was a DJ and more sponsors and schwag. I like that at the end of a race they have food to accommodate any craving- sweet, salty, crunchy and reusable cups!! My only complaint came from the Tiger Mtn race. It was really hard to figure out on the course which way to go in the maze of trails based on the various lengths people were running. I'm sure that has been cleared up though. Also, maybe one more water station on the routes.. Great runs, though, with great organization. THANKS!! I'll keep truckin with them for sure!

Miles Hike Club was an unbelievable experience. First of all, Booby & Ish are extremely…read moreaccommodating. They provided a time/place to meet. They provided a van to transport us to/from the hike. They provided food/beverages on the trip. They also provided recommendations on clothes to wear and bring. Secondly, they are extremely knowledgeable. Throughout the hike, they provided fun facts about the trail specifically and provided guidance on how to hike safely. They ensured to take time before and after the hike to make sure everyone stretched and warmed up. They took pictures for everyone throughout the hike. They were fun to interact with and talk to. They kept the group engaged throughout the day and often made us laugh. I could not have asked for a better experience.

This tour exceeded my expectations. This was my first real hiking experience and it will definitely…read morego in my memory book. The the views were breathtaking. Our tour guide Ismail was the best, he was very knowledgeable on the surrounding areas and knew exactly were to take first time hikers.

Went on some excellent shuttle rides on Tiger Mountain. Best way to ride tiger…read more Super friendly and knowledgeable. 10/10 would shred again.

Reservation cancelled at the last second leaving me high and dry…read more Came up to Seattle for work and two weekends of riding, both were booked through Evo/Compass. The first weekend went great with them meeting me at the trail head and being flexible with pickup time. The day before my Saturday rental I got a cancellation notification from Compass letting me know I no longer had a reservation leaving me high and dry as no other shops had a rental available on such short notice.

Easy hike that ends with the most beautiful view! Might be tricky on the weekend with parking but…read morewe came on a Friday morning and the entire lot was empty. I recommend hiking boots especially on a gloomy day because it does tend to be a little slippery especially going downhill. Everyone was extremely friendly and just let people pass if you feel like you can't match their pace!

Easy hike, beautiful scenery. Tranquil water. Kid friendly hike. Easy access to water to kayak.read more

The absolute highlight of our waterfront trip! We took a pedicab ride with Waldo and it completely…read moreblew our expectations out of the water. He brought so much energy, dancing and singing the entire time--it felt like a party on wheels! If you are visiting the Seattle piers, do yourself a favor and seek Waldo out. You won't regret it!

Tristan drove us around so fast, I could not believe these things are Street legal. I was honestly…read moresurprised he could pedal up hill so effortlessly. Overall we had fun but If you're going to charge someone $300 to go to the Hyatt hotel let customers know upfront.

After having read/heard about the snowshoe walk that Snoqualmie Falls Park offers, a group of us…read morefinally went and had our chances to snowshoe for the first time at Snoqualmie Falls Park. The rangers at the Snoqualmie Falls Park Visitor Center were very friendly and helpful. You could tell they love the nature and love showing off how amazing and beautiful the nature in the Pacific Northwest is! Our 90 min (the walk was actually free, but with a suggested donation of $15/person) snowshoe walk was scheduled at 10am and the weather happened to be perfect! It was sunny, not too cold...and clear sky! :) Very beautiful! The walk itself was not too strenuous...as it was just a mile walk (although it involved going up and down the hill a bit...so if you are taking someone senior, make sure they are comfortable with walking...a couple people brought their own snow/walking poles too!). There was so much snow (and even a thick, fresh layer of snow when we went!) even though it was already getting into Spring in early March. From what we found out, the walk that we did was on the snow that was 5-6 feet above the ground...how amazing was that! We started off the walk with how to put on snow shoe, then did a little race to get us more oriented into our snowshoe, did some nature walk and ended with time for some photo / snowball fight opportunities. If you are interested in the snowshoe walk, I highly recommend calling and making reservations ahead of time. They only offer free walks on weekends and only in Jan-Mar and even though we called almost a month ahead of our scheduled, the tours were very much booked (although there may be a few spots open up because of last min no-shows if you happened to get lucky). This snowshoe nature walk is a great, very fun experience for anyone (family and/or friends) and a good, short trip away from Seattle!

Did the photo snowshoe hike led by Chuck Davis on Feb 15 . http://alpinescenes.net/biography.html…read more The snow was coming down pretty hard and the cloud cover was low so not great photo ops but Chuck was terrific and prepared with thoughtful lessons on composition, histograms, etc - he covered a lot of territory and was very knowledgeable. He was warm , friendly, entertaining,and professional. His walk really had a great blend of nature, photography and safety education. He took us off trail a little which was great and we tried to find the elusive snowshoe hare. The caboose ranger was Hailu who was very nice, friendly and professional. I always felt safe and able to ask any questions or let them know if I was cold or working too hard. They were very aware of how people were feeling and ensured a pleasant time by keeping a good pace. The staff in the office was also terrific - all of them. I called several times in advance with questions and if it went to voice mail, they ALWAYS called me back - WOW! Don't get that much anymore. You can tell they love what they do and want the best for the patrons. If you have never tried snowshoeing before they'll provide you with free snowshoes, poles and only ask for a donation. It is a great safe environment to go tromping including younger ones. Highly recommend for beginners or not. http://snowshoeingsnoqualmiepass.wordpress.com/ Our trip was in Commonwealth Basin and I think it was about 3 mi roundtrip - pretty easy exercise, but some uphill. I think it ended a little early because we were getting a little chilled. The photo walk is not very aerobic so be prepared with layers to do some stopping for discussion, lunch and picture taking.