On a summer's day there are few pleasures better than messin' about on the water. With so much shoreline in the Seattle area, there are ample opportunities to explore watery nooks and corners.
The best part is, you don't have to own a boat. Renting a canoe, kayak or rowboat is a relatively inexpensive way to escape the bustle of urban living without having to go very far.
By Gordon Black | July 3, 2003
Add a restorative commune with nature to your weekend on a paddling adventure through Bellevue's Mercer Slough, the largest wetland on Lake Washington. No paddling experience? No problem.
Basic training, equipment and Bellevue Park Ranger guides will have you gliding a canoe through the lake like a real Northwest adventurer. Chances are you'll spot some otters, herons, turtles and other wetland wildlife as you glide through their habitat on a three-hour journey from Enatai Beach Park to Mercer Slough Nature Park.
By Madeline McKenzie | May 8, 2003
Take a Walk
Location: Bellevue.
Length: About five miles of trails.
Level of difficulty: Flat (western portion) to moderate (eastern portion); wood-chip, dirt, and gravel trails, boardwalks, and paved, peripheral bike trail.
By Cathy McDonald | October 4, 2001
If it wasn't for the tops of office buildings poking above the jungle of vegetation and the faint background hum of Interstate 90, you might think you were deep in a backwoods swamp while canoeing Mercer Slough Nature Park.
Great blue herons stand still as a rock on sticklike legs not 15 feet away as you paddle quietly among the cattails, willows and bulrushes. Schools of tiny fish swim among the aquatic vegetation. One hundred feet up, an osprey circles the slough looking for lunch.
By Greg Johnston | August 12, 1999
