Area Beaches

The last few days have been overcast haze, and the forecast doesn't look much better. But summer hit Seattle a week ago, with temperatures into the high 80s. So it is about time to dust off the swimsuit and get ready to head down to your local Seattle Parks beach. You can check the bacterial count and the temperature before you go at the King County Beach monitoring website. Signs should be posted if there is some public health reason to close the beach. This Seattlest has been swimming in area lakes including Lake Union for years without getting ill or developing "Swimmer's Itch" (which is apparently due to the Canada geese). King County also makes available not so "real time" data collected at various water quality and weather buoys and even a narrative story about Lake Washington.

If you aren't into swimming, how about a Seattlest-style sailing adventure on the high seas, far away from the dock? Or a leisurely paddle through the Washington Park Arboretum on a University of Washington canoe?

Photo: Thanks Tandoku