I was at Mt. Baker Rowing & Sailing Center this month for an event - the outdoor activities would…read morebe wasted on my anyhow, I'm a bit on the lazy side. I'd never been there before and found the drive there quite serene. Often, I'll be going somewhere in the Seattle area and be in total awe of how beautiful the trees, mountains, and water are. It was one of those moments as my carpool came around a winding road towards the facility. Just breathtaking (and no rain at the moment). The effect was completed with about 50 seagulls and 25 geese hanging out on and/or near the docks. I love birds - they're just a little messy sometimes. The main building offers either an elevator or stairs to the next floor. On the second floor, you can find pretty much everything you'll need - the main room (with fireplace), two balconies, bathrooms, kitchens, and more of the stunning view I described earlier. Most of our activities took place in the main room. There were high ceilings and hanging lights. The facility offered both round and straight tables with plenty of chairs. The hardwood floor was beautiful. The staff was great and super responsive to our needs, facility was perfect, and our event design was fantastic! A great day in a great location!

Part of Seattle Parks & Rec…read more I took sailing lessons here this summer - and it was SO FUN! An affordable option for sailing. Being city run means it's cheap (in a good way though). Plus a great way for me to take full advantage of all the ducats I pony over to the city in sales tax and parking tickets! I now have on my fridge a piece of paper saying I'm certified by the City of Seattle to sail. NEAT-O.

The person who set us out on our boards was friendly. It's a small area on a deck where the boats…read moreare, they have a limited amount of space and when you walk up it looks mildly sketch but the experience was great. The lady will warn you, on your way back don't get lost because the dock looks like every other dock. She wasn't playing. We got lost. So seriously take a photo or a mental picture of which dock it is. Also no wet bag is provided only a cellphone holder.

Awesome place to rent! Linda (owner) is always super friendly and helpful. The boards are stable…read moreand cute (I have gotten compliments when out on the lake). This is a great way to enjoy the Seattle water and weather! Easy parking that is free on weekends and evenings!

The staff is a little curt, but they do their job well. No issues with the rental or the kayaking…read moreitself. As long as you're no nonsense and focus on kayaking, this place is pretty good.

Given the numbers of reviews here which mention the "owner" being rude, this is what I came here to…read morewrite, amongst other things. The rental started out fine - a young woman helped me figure out the boat size, get me checked in, and familiar with the route and map. Then she disappeared, and someone changed the boat she ordered (which we carefully figured out was right for me) to a different longer boat. I'm not sure why. It was a cloudy day and there were about 75 available green plastic boats. She had mentioned there was a new boat, even shorter than the 14' one she put me in, but somehow it was too hard to get to (according to the rude gentleman who took over for her. He was saying snarky things to me, like would I mind if the boat they gave me was 5" longer than the one they promised???? It made not sense. I was solo kayaking in the afternoon. The young man who put me in the boat told me before he pushed me off that he would be going over some safety points. That consisted of one tip - always keep your lifejacket on. Speaking of safety - I have about 12 years of experience kayaking and having a whistle is pretty important. They had to search several PFD's to find one with a whistle. I had to ask for that. I was kayaking SOLO! Should have been a given. They have a set way of putting people in boats which starts with sitting on the metal grated dock. I am in my 6th decade of life, and getting down to sitting on the ground like that isn't a slam dunk. Plus I had a scraped knee (us oldsters have falls). The guy wasn't reading the room. When I asked him to adjust the foot pedals, he snapped back that he was going to do that next. Anyway, they recommended I make my way across the wide channel to the other side where the houseboats were, but I felt wobbly right there at the dock and thought better of that and instead hugged the side of the channel we were already on. There was no instruction as to what to do if the boat tipped over. Not that they could have given me a whole wet exit lesson - I already knew what to do, but I certainly didn't want to capsize and with all the motor boat activity that afternoon, I knew the paddle would be a bit nerve wracking. On the way out (after just 30 minutes, having returned to the dock to get out of the water) I told the young woman at the check out that they need to add an "in case of emergency" phone number to the waiver. Her response was silly "we are the emergency phone number". Yes, well if I were to capsize and perhaps drown, you might need to reach someone ON MY END. Duh. Rude man had some parting remarks I wasn't interested in. Because of his snarkiness alone, I'll never be back and am telling others. I think he is in the wrong business.

Pretty good Ive been on 2 Electric boat rentals. I have rented and driven large 55' houseboats on…read moreLake Mead and Lake Powell. Plus speed boat driving for skiing.

A fun way to enjoy summer in Seattle. DH, DD and I took out one of the inflatable electric…read morecatamarans for a couple of hours on Lake Union. The weather was perfect and we had fun buzzing (slowly!) around the Lake. While the catamarans are smaller than the traditional electric boats, they do allow for passengers to take a dip which was fun! Service was great from online booking to checking in, launching and returning to the dock. Would definitely recommend.

Super easy to book, clear communication, affordable pricing, and great customer service! Highly…read morerecommend if you're in Seattle area.

Very easy and very professional. I liked being able to rent a board for a day and go to a beach…read morewhere there are not rentals near by. I will definitely use for my up coming camping trip!

We had a great time celebrating the end of the school year on Sailing Seattle. 4 of us easily…read morebooked tickets for a Monday sunset sail a couple weeks in advance. Upon arrival to the dock, it was very cloudy and cold, but the clouds cleared for a gorgeous sunset cruise. It worked perfectly because there were only ~10 people on the ship with us, so we could spread out with our snacks. Dean kindly brought around blankets and coats for the wind and cold. Tony did a great job sailing us around and making sure everyone got a good view in all directions. I'll definitely be taking out of town visitors here in the future!

This is a great way to experience a Seattle sunset. My friends and I decided to do a sunset sail…read moreand was impressed with the overall experience. This sailing was 2 hours long and the stays within Elliott Bay. Sailing Seattle has a fleet of 3 yachts. We were on a their largest vessel, S/V Obsession. This ocean racing yacht was designed by Sparkman & Stephens and was built for training US America's Cup teams. This yacht can accommodate up to 48 passengers and has a total length of 70ft. We boarded from Pier 56 and settled in for the 2 hour narrated journey. Boarding was seamless. The yacht has some non-slip surfaces and grab handles to help with balance and traction. Seats are first come first serve. After a brief safety demonstration on life vests, we set off on our sunset sail. This experience was further enhanced by their BYOB rule. We were allowed to bring our own snacks, wine, and beer. Our sailing path weaved in and out of ferry lanes and we completed some sharp turns, really showcasing the agility of the yacht. We pulled in after sunset providing everyone a beautiful nighttime view of downtown Seattle and waterfront. Service was fantastic. The crew was friendly and efficient. My biggest recommendation when doing the sunset cruise is to layer up (sweater/jacket) or even bring a nice blanket.

I recently returned from a beautiful 3 week trek in Nepal with Lakpa Rita Sherpa as our team's…read moreguide. It was magical to see Nepal through his eyes, his hometown of Thames, tea at his parent's house, and his incredible knowledge of the area where he was born and grew up. Our 4 guides on this trip were safe and knowledgeable about the geography as well as climbing/trekking. This was my 4th International expedition with Alpine Ascents and I have climbed many Washington state peaks as well. I've been guided by Lakpa, Pete, Devin, Vern, Ben, Jangbu, Pasang, and many more. They have been fantastic teachers. The Nepal trek has a first class itinerary, the nicer tea houses, and a pace designed for slow travel. The gear list includes everything I needed and more. My guide went out of his way to take us to places we asked about, outside of the itinerary. Highly recommend.

First time with this guide company was on a 3 Day trip up the Muir route of Rainier and for sure…read morethis company knows what they're doing and how to keep everybody safe. We were led by a stellar team with Craig, David, Peter and Matt at the helm. Already signed up for a 6 Day on Mt Baker to get more skills in the mountains, looking forward to going on another trip with this guide company! One of the top outfitters for mountaineering in the Cascades with several international trips available as well!

The attitude of these people is unprofessional and rude. They either don't know the rules of the…read moreroad or simply don't care. To be yelled and cussed at is about as unprofessional and immature as it gets. It amazes me people would pay to belong to this organization

Rowing is such a PNW thing to do. And since I've lived here for about 5 years now (and don't seem…read moreto be leaving anytime soon) I felt it was time for me to try this sport out for myself. I'd been eyeing LUC for a couple of years, and had almost signed up for a group rowing class. Unfortunately, the pandemic squashed those plans. Their group lessons were all on hold, but when I saw this spring that they were offering private lessons, I decided to sign up me and my son. I was in contact with Patti, who shared that they were still working on the logistics of offering lessons, and trying to juggle reopening their rowing programs with staffing challenges, but I gave her some options that worked for us and she began lining things up. In the meantime, LUC began offering some summer camps on a limited enrollment basis. My son had never rowed before, but he was excited to get to do normal summer camps again, so I wound up enrolling him in a week-long camp. Unfortunately - shortly after registering him, he broke his clavicle, which took him out of all sports for several weeks. LUC was so accommodating - they gave me a credit for the camp that I could apply towards something else. My parents were coming into town, and since my son couldn't do the private lesson with me anymore, I thought rowing would be a nice father/daughter activity. He's in his 80s, but he's very active and in good shape. I relayed this to LUC, and they were very encouraging, so I signed us up. Our instructor was Gil, and he was awesome! Neither of us knew what to expect, and our previous rowing experiences consisted of kayaks and rowboats. The rowing shells are completely different - the rowing techniques are different than a kayak or canoe, and the shells are really reactive, so my dad and I struggled with balance and timing. Gil was so patient with us. He gave clear guidance and provided the right amount of feedback at the right time. At one point, I wasn't sure that my dad would be able to continue (he's in good shape, but at 82 he has some back problems) - Gil was always encouraging, but didn't try to push beyond my dad's limitations. My dad is also hearing impaired, but he couldn't use his hearing aids during the lessons (in case we tipped over in the water) but Gil was able to communicate clearly, checking in regularly, and making sure my dad was following along. During our final lesson, my dad and I finally found our stride (sort of!) and we were able sync up our rowing and feel more comfortable out on the water. Again, Gil was so enthusiastic - I think he was more excited to see us out there than we were! In the end, my dad said he was glad we stuck it out, and asserted that were it not for Gil's teaching style, his ability to adapt the lessons to our needs, and his optimism, he probably would have given up. If you've never rowed before, and you're nervous, but you're thinking about taking some private lessons anyways, I highly recommend Gil. I guarantee that no matter what your fitness or comfort level is, he will make sure your lessons are successful! As for summer camps - my son (who is 12) was cleared for sports later in the summer. I was able to find a spot for him a "big boat" summer camp, and he had a blast. LUC isn't exactly close to our house and attending required that he wake up early for an entire week, but he was excited to go every day, and also shared that his instructors were all patient, enthusiastic, and fun to work with. I'm already looking forward to future group lessons with LUC!