Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« Did Noel Frame Admit Ignorance on C… | A (Birth) Day in the Life of an Ida… »

Friday, September 14, 2012

City / Wilderness Beach Information Just in Time!

Posted by Jen Graves on Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 2:39 PM

It was considerably less freezing when I took this photo at Denny Blaine a month ago. Those were the days.

It was considerably less freezing when I took this photo at Denny Blaine a month ago. Those were the days.

There is a new app called the Puget Sound SWIM Guide. It tells you things you need to know before swimming at local beaches.

I do not have time to download it and give you a review, but I can tell you two facts. One, it's part of an American/Canadian database that originated in the Great Lakes Region.

Two, I went swimming at Denny Blaine this morning and I am only now getting feeling back into my fingers.

Outdoor swimming season's just about over. SADLY. See you at Medgar Evers, which is clearly the best indoor pool in Seattle. Fight me on that in comments if you need to.

FacebookShare

Comments (9) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

Weirdly, doesn't seem to include any info about lake beaches, which is a big miss for the Seattle area. Guess I'll just keep going to the longstanding beach quality site run by King County: http://green.kingcounty.gov/swimbeach/

Posted by Outdoor swimming is awesome on September 14, 2012 at 2:55 PM

First, if you're not from here ... it's fricking freezing if the beach is in Puget Sound, cause you're swimming in the Pacific Ocean and it's deep and cold. Think of the East coast of Vancouver Island, not the warm beaches of the shallow inlets around Vancouver BC or the glacier fed lakes of BC.

Second, smart people swim in lakes here, but there's a lot of bird poo and other parasites.

Me, I'd recommend swimming indoors or somewhere else entirely.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on September 14, 2012 at 3:01 PM

Why the fuck did they wait till the end of summer to come out with that app.

@2 If you swim in a lake a quick shower after usually takes care of the itch.

Posted by Frank Blethen's vodka distiller on September 14, 2012 at 3:28 PM

@3, completely agree, and swimming across a lake feels like an accomplishment. The sound is freezing, but you can swim in the Pacific. It mainly depends on the depth (Vancouver) and the current (Hawaii), but there are warm spots off Galiano Island.

Posted by biffp on September 14, 2012 at 3:48 PM

There are reason for wetsuits, if one is getting cold after a dip. Lake Washington in certain parts like Seward Park are passable until beginning of October.

For swimming in the Sound, the best part to swim is on the westside of Puget Sound near Shelton, and other parts that can be around 70 degrees in the summer compare to eastside parts, or jumping in at Golden Gardens..

If one is interested, there are some good open water swim races in Lake Washington during the summer like the Fat Salmon..

http://www.fatsalmonswim.org/

Posted by ferret

on September 14, 2012 at 4:27 PM

Wear a drysuit!!!!

Posted by TassieRosa on September 14, 2012 at 5:06 PM

The warmth of the water at Vancouver beaches has nothing to do with depth; rather it is the effect of what Vancouverites call "the Japanese current," which enters through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and heads north between Vancouver Island and the mainland. It's the reason Vancouver commonly sees thousands of bathers on its beaches most warm summer days. Check the water temperature stats if you don't believe me.

Posted by cheakamus on September 14, 2012 at 7:11 PM

Hard to argue with the Medgar Evers assessment. I'm a fan of pools that get a lot of light. The Queen Anne pool sometimes gets some afternoon sunlight slanting straight into the water through the foyer, and it's a real pleasure to swim through it. I spent a considerable portion of my waking youth in the Rainier Beach pool, so it feels like home, but the windowless cavernousness isn't welcoming.

Posted by Mike on September 14, 2012 at 7:52 PM