Kayaking Lake Crescent

Who wouldn’t take the opportunity to kayak in any of our National Parks? Kerri and I jumped at the opportunity the same day we arrived in the Port Angeles. We drove to Lake Crescent, part of Olympic National Park, and set out for what was to be a paddle under the shadow of Pyramid Mountain and along the North shoreline.

Our trip had us out for a 7.5 mile round trip along the opposite shoreline. The paddle out went on at a snail’s pace as the waters were so clear we could see down 30, 40, and even 50 feet below the surface. There were so many sights under the water worth the attention we rarely paddled and moved only with the momentum of previous strokes. It was slow and scenic.

Enough trees have fallen along the shoreline to make things even that much more interesting. While Kerri chose to go around them, I chose to navigate through as many as possible with my rudder-capable kayak. I got a kick out of it. I’m a kid at heart and exactly how I want it to continue.

A few miles out we beached and walked into the picnic area at the North end of the lake, shared an apple while enjoying the views, and walked back to the kayaks to start our against-the-wind-as-usual return paddle. While the water was glass-smooth on the way out, it was choppy and windy on the way back causing us to keep paddling to prevent the loss of momentum.