Lazy summer evenings paddling a kayak on Lake Union's Portage Bay or Lake Washington's Foster Island wildlife refuge: it sounds like the perfect Seattle activity (outdoorsy without being demanding). Nothing against the half dozen recreational kayak rental outfits along the Ship Canal, but here's another option: instead of gliding up behind a nesting heron in the Foster Island marshes, float through Seattle's unseen industrial heartland, the Duwamish Waterway.
Since 2001 the lower Duwamish River has been a Superfund site, with local stakeholders (residents, tribes, neighborhood businesses) contributing to the Environmental Protection Agency's cleanup plans. Chemicals from Boeing's aircraft manufacturing are only part of the toxic stew; overflowing sewage and industrial sludge from dozens of sources complicate the cleanup.
Some signs of progress: salmon are coming back to the river. And ospreys, seals and sea lions can be spotted in the course of the three-hour tours, which are sponsored by the and operated by Alki Kayak Tours.
The tours leave from a hard-to-find spot called Duwamish Waterway Park (7900 10th Ave. South, zig-zag your way from the First Avenue South bridge).
Wednesdays (August 4th and 25th; September 8th), from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The cost is $40 and includes all equipment; participants under 18 must be accompanied by a parent. To sign up, call Alki Kayak Tours at 206-953-0237.
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