Agua Verde Paddle Club has served Seattle paddlers since 1997, offering kayak and paddleboard rentals on Portage Bay in the U-District, with easy access to Lake Union, the Washington Park Arboretum, the Montlake Cut, and Lake Washington. With more than a million paddlers served, it’s become one of Seattle’s favorite spots to get out on the water, whether for a first-time paddle or a regular outing.
Heading west from the docks, paddlers can tour the houseboat communities of Portage Bay and Lake Union, including the floating home made famous in Sleepless in Seattle, take in the Seattle skyline and Space Needle, check out Gas Works Park, and watch seaplanes departing for the San Juan Islands, Vancouver, and coastal British Columbia. Heading east instead leads through the Montlake Cut into the Arboretum’s water trail and the wildlife-rich Union Bay Natural Area near the University of Washington.
Wildlife sightings are common on nearly every trip, with great blue herons and painted turtles frequently spotted, along with the seasonal chance of eagles, beavers, coots, wood ducks, bullfrogs, ospreys, river otters, seals, muskrats, raccoons, and kingfishers. Agua Verde’s lead guide, Roddy Scheer, has even authored a book on the area’s wildlife, Wild Seattle, available for purchase at the counter.
Beyond hourly rentals, the business offers guided tours, group events, full moon public tours, and both small and large group reservations. Rental rates run $24 an hour for a single kayak, $32 an hour for a double kayak, and $27 an hour for a paddleboard, with a 1-hour minimum and pro-rated billing every 10 minutes after that. Hours vary by day, generally running 10am to 8pm (Sundays 10am to 6pm), closed Wednesdays, with the last rentals leaving the dock 6:30pm most days (4:30pm Sundays); trips can be canceled due to weather.
For anyone in Seattle looking to explore Portage Bay, Lake Union, or the Arboretum by kayak or paddleboard, Agua Verde Paddle Club offers a long-established, wildlife-rich rental and tour operation right in the U-District.
