I was at Mt. Baker Rowing & Sailing Center this month for an event - the outdoor activities would be wasted on my anyhow, I'm a bit on the lazy side. I'd never been there before and found the drive there quite serene. Often, I'll be going somewhere in the Seattle area and be in total awe of how beautiful the trees, mountains, and water are. It was one of those moments as my carpool came around a winding road towards the facility. Just breathtaking (and no rain at the moment). The effect was completed with about 50 seagulls and 25 geese hanging out on and/or near the docks. I love birds - they're just a little messy sometimes. The main building offers either an elevator or stairs to the next floor. On the second floor, you can find pretty much everything you'll need - the main room (with fireplace), two balconies, bathrooms, kitchens, and more of the stunning view I described earlier. Most of our activities took place in the main room. There were high ceilings and hanging lights. The facility offered both round and straight tables with plenty of chairs. The hardwood floor was beautiful. The staff was great and super responsive to our needs, facility was perfect, and our event design was fantastic! A great day in a great location! read more

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Part of Seattle Parks & Rec. I took sailing lessons here this summer - and it was SO FUN! An affordable option for sailing. Being city run means it's cheap (in a good way though). Plus a great way for me to take full advantage of all the ducats I pony over to the city in sales tax and parking tickets! I now have on my fridge a piece of paper saying I'm certified by the City of Seattle to sail. NEAT-O. read more

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We had our wedding and reception there last July. The space is lovely but buyer beware of dealing with the Seattle parks department rental staff. First, the cost you see online to rent the place is a fraction of the true cost. What they don't tell you are the additional costs to serve alcohol, to use the kitchen, to use their sound equipment, the cost to pay for their staff who do absolutely NOTHING for your event, etc. etc. It cost around $2335 for one Friday evening just for the venue. After we booked, we toured the place with one staff person who told us we could drop off a few cold items earlier that our rental time. Remember - you have to pay for staff and rental for all of your set up time (we allowed two hours before and one hour after). Then when we did drop just a few things off earlier than our 4pm start time, a different person called me to tell me we would be charged. This was on my wedding day when I was already stressed out! what a jerk. The worst part was afterward. We were informed that we had "broken" a sliding door hinge. The doors were open when we arrived - how could we break it? We work with rehabbing house - hinges don't just "break". They had to be structurally unsound or already weakened. The capper was this - we had a $500 deposit and the parks dept charged us $488 for a single broken hinge. I went ballistic and wrote emails that were logical and true, but they would not budge and basically said "you'll get your remaining deposit back in the next two weeks (wow - all twenty bucks of it)". I had to decide - would I let this awful experience with horrible peope ruin my wedding memories. No - I just let it go. But I want to warn others about dealing with the inept, inflexible, and nonprofessional staff at the parks department. read more

I once had four-pack abs... and for women to achieve that is nearly impossible (you have to be androgynous like Jamie Lee Curtis to get the six-pack*). My coach taught me the true understanding and pain of an athlete's discipline. For that, I am eternally grateful. Rowing on Lake Washington when the sun has risen, the only ripples in the water made from your sweeping oars, and the view of Mt. Ranier behind your coxswain, is such a mighty feeling. But then finishing your erg-test and wanting to puke is not so triumphant. I'm looking forward to checking out the completion of the remodeled boathouse. I might even have to dig up my much-loved 1993 Mt. Baker Rowing sweatshirt for my return, and may stumble upon my lost four-pack, too! -- update-- * or Janet Jackson to lipo-sculpt the five-pack read more

The Wright Stuff If you are thinking of giving windsurfing a try or you've been experimenting with the sport and want to get some formal training, I want to encourage you to do as my wife and I did: Get a lesson from Wright. It could totally change your trajectory in the sport. Before we met Wright, my wife and I had had a couple of lessons with other instructors, and they were OK. But we really didn't get very far with things. The lessons only lasted an hour. They cost us $75 per hour each. We barely got going at all and had to share a board. We had a ton of fun, but we didn't really learn anything. Not really. So our expectations were pretty modest when we dropped in the Mt. Baker Center to see Wright. We knew right away things were going to be different. Wright is one of those instantly likeable, outdoorsy, friendly chaps who makes a perfect teacher for beginners like us. Right off the bat, he asked us if a three-hour lesson would be OK. The cost worked out to $30 per hour for each of us, and Wright wanted us to each have our own rigs. Our jaws dropped. Yeah! Now THAT is a lesson. The first hour of the lesson was all in the classroom and on land--and it was invaluable. We worked on a simulator that Wright set up. We had plenty of time to practice balancing, up-hauling, turning and tacking and so on. It was mind-blowing. By the time we got into the water, we were way ahead of the game. I'll just sum up the next two hours this way: They were two of the most exciting hours of my sporting life. It was magical. And I credit Wright for that. I've learned to ski, surf, skydive, rock-climb and SUP. It usually sucks being a beginner. But not this time. For sheer excitement, nothing has matched the experience I had flying around Lake Washington on that beginner windsurfing board. Yeah, I fell plenty. I looked foolish at times. But Wright kept me in the game and kept me laughing. And get this: I managed to get a solid 15-minute run across the lake towards Mercer Island. I felt like a pro! It was EPIC! Wright made sure my wife and I kept moving at 100 smiles per hour. We can't wait for our next lesson. And Wright really made us feel like he'd be happy to see us again. I can't recommend him enough. read more

I took a paddleboarding class here. Every one in the class looked pretty excited, except for the instructor. The instructor didn't look happy, and really didn't taught us much. The only thing he taught us was how to get into the water on the paddle board. That was it, the rest of the 1 hour class was letting us loose and paddle on our own, while he's on a boat supervising. It'd be nice if he paddled with us to demonstrate some techniques. I fell into the water 3 times, destroyed my iPhone. It was my own fault of course, but It'd also be nice he could remind us to remove all items from the pockets. One of the front desk ladies was super friendly, though, that balanced it out a little bit. read more

Fabulous experience all the way around. Wright is a great teacher, and the lessons are set up to be in-depth and affordable. The facility is amazing. I wish I lived in Seattle! read more

Mt Baker Rowing and Sailing Center - Getting ready to go out and give this thing a try! - Boating Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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We held our wedding reception here and we could not have picked a better venue. Our guests were blown away by the beautiful ambiance and the gorgeous views. The balcony is truly amazing. The venue has a wonderful kitchen for the caterer of your choice, an elevator, restrooms on the same floor as the reception hall, sound system, adjustable lighting...its perfect for any event, but especially a wedding reception. The stuff was incredibly accommodating and flexible. They checked in with me at the end of the night to make sure everything went well. The price is right for a wedding venue, although I felt that it added up pretty quickly and became borderline too pricey for a parks and recreation facility. I felt better about the cost and the venue when I learned that a portion of the venue fee goes towards scholarships for students to attend the rowing and sailing center. Overall, this venue was perfect! It truly made our day magical! read more

I haven't used the boating facilities yet, but it's only $10 to launch your boat and the center does a lot for the local Mt Baker community -- love that! This week, the MBRSC will host a silent auction (which I couldn't visit, but sounded fun) and a jazz event for Christmas, complete with cocktails and locals from the area. In addition to doing fun stuff for the community, it's a great spot for local rowers (of course), and a fun spot to just visit. Beautiful views of Lake Washington and Mercer Island make this a great spot to just have a picnic or walk to on a nice day. read more

I had my wedding reception here and although the facility is beautiful and my guests were blown away, it was not worth the headache of dealing with the staff here. They are so disorganized and not at all prepared to provide appropriate customer service for wedding events. My husband and I chose Mt. Baker to save money at a nice location, but after all the trouble this facility has caused, we would probably have booked a more traditional reception venue just for peace of mind and the ease of working with a place that does this sort of event professionally. Wedding events at Mt. Baker are given the same level of attention as all other events, so if you plan your reception here just be aware that you're on the same level as weekly rowing meetings and club dinners.You're also not allowed to setup early, clean up the next day, or even drop things off ahead of your paid-for scheduled time, so if you require a lot of setup it can get expensive quickly. Scheduling tours here with your vendors is also a huge headache because of all the events they host and their tiny windows for tour times. Our wedding was in the summer so we had to work around SeaFair and other events they host leading up to our wedding. We had planned (with the suggestion of their staff during our booking) to have our ceremony nearby on the grounds. But just a few months before our wedding, we found out there was going to be an Ironman race the day after and they'd be setting up all around the row house the day and afternoon of our wedding! We were told that since we didn't reserve the grounds (it's not allowed to reserve the grounds separately and were told it comes with our room reservation anyway!?) we come to find out the Ironman is staging their port-a-potties at our ceremony site!! And because they don't care if you're a wedding or a kids birthday party, we were given no choice but to change our ceremony location last minute. Luckily we had an excellent photographer who got creative so no Ironman fencing or signs were in our wedding photos, but I still can't believe that the staff here didn't think it was important to tell us right away that there might be a conflicting event. That's just one example of the type of stress you'll be dealing with leading up to your wedding if you chose this location for such a big event. It's really beautiful, but even our wedding planner expressed frustration disbelief when she worked with the staff. Buyer beware! read more

I took a sailing class here a few years ago and had oodles of fun. For a city-operated facility, the operation was well run and everyone I talked to seemed to enjoy what they do. The Laser II boats that the school uses for training are agile and surprisingly quick. The class is cheap and well worth it (even if you have to take the mandatory soak test at a city pool prior). read more

I want love this place because it's not too far from my house and rowing crews were helpful. However the coach was unprofessional. There was no instruction, no adjustment on your performance, so how are we supposed to improve for the next level. Not only that, she wasn't responsive to email. The class wasn't well instructed and there appeared not to be an afford to chanlange students. If you are a good performer, you will to be in the boat more than those who need instruction most, rather than concentrating on giving equal instruction or those who are not naturally talented. Coaching was not her primary focus as expressed by her. Not everyone is the same, many coaches were fun and do their job. read more

We had a rehearsal dinner/celebration at the Mt. Baker rowing center on a Friday evening in late August. Simply, it was a great venue. Easy to book and the staff made it a breeze to plan everything out. Our friends and family loved the space and we spent most of the time out on the balcony! Such beautiful views. We easily could have had our wedding here (although it would have been tight to put more than 100 people there). read more

Windsurfing camp (5 days paid): Two days my son's didn't windsurf. They took them out paddle boarding. .

We held our wedding here. It's a lovely venue, with a huge deck overlooking the lake. The blond wood and high ceilings were very elegant. I highly recommend for a wedding. Just make sure you work with the AV equipment before the event; it's pretty complicated. read more

My sister rowed for MB in the early 2000's and still raves about it. Our daughter rows for another club (in CA), but was warmly and enthusiastically welcomed to participate in the MB summer camp this July. The coaches were patient, clear, and flexible with her schedule. Thank you for your hospitality! I wish we lived in Seattle and could participate all year. read more

you can always find a boat to rent here for open sailing. here's why: i took a sailing class here back in april with my brother. the stormy seattle springtime sure made for some fun times on the lake. especially being required to capsize the boat into 41 degree water on the first day! the pre-class email said "prepare to get wet" so i made sure to bring a warm change of clothes. but i don't think anyone else knew that "prepare to get wet" meant actual full submersion. following that first lesson, we got to practice tying knots for an hour or so after the class was scheduled to be finished. but i did actually use one of the knots we were taught. the 'stop-knot' or something like that. 'Beginning Adult Sailing' sure was intense for a beginner's course. fortunately, we were able to sail with max and philip for our second and third classes. these two are great teachers and understood that we were there to learn and have fun on the lake. we weren't aspiring racers, just wanted to learn the basics and have fun. after completing the course i did manage to take advantage of the 'open sailing' program. although a little pricey ($35 for the first two hours!) to rent a "well-used" fiberglass boat. there were often times no one staffing the office during open sailing hours, to like, take credit cards, unlock the restroom, or supply information on boat availabiity and stuff. on our last trip to open sailing we did manage to track down a surly instructor to take our credit card info. but couldn't really figure out that it was $35 to rent the boat for the first two hours. not $35 for each person to be in the boat for the first two hours. so we picked out a boat, wheeled it down towards the dock, unfortunately it wasn't rigged! we didn't expect it to be fully rigged, but during our class the boats had the sails lifted and we were never taught to lift the sails. hmmm....well the laser II is a pretty simple thing so we were able to get her ready for a calm day on the lake. the water was warm and clear, and we really enjoyed being out on the water. we sailed back to the dock, de-rigged the boat, but of course there was no one in the office. so my brother hailed the instructor on the water, who promptly returned to shore to let us collect our belongings and put the boat back in the boathouse. first though, we were accosted for improperly folding the sails. well, that was one other thing that was never covered in our class. the surly man scoffed at this, but i really didn't have a reason to lie about it. so he graciously took some time out of his day to treat us like sub-par employees and school us on how to fold up some crappy sails that had obviously spent most of their existence balled up in the bottom of a laser II. i felt a little insulted by this guy, not just because of his attitude, but because we were in fact paying him and the center. kind of like a customer or something. i don't know much about sailing except for the basics and that it is usually a pretty good time. but i do know some things about customer service and how to staff a business during the hours of operation. though i don't think the Baker rowing and sailing center has figured it out yet. i will not be returning to the baker center ever again, but if i did i am sure there would be a boat available. read more

My husband and I had our wedding reception in the new rental space at Mt Baker Rowing and Sailing Center. The view of the lake was beautiful and I like how the center is not surrounded by a bunch of other buildings. It feels like you have your own private space. They have a very large deck that faces the lake. All of my guests were able to mingle out there where I had set up the bar and some standing tables. There was a separate entryway area that was large enough to hold my entire buffet dinner. The caterers also loved it due to the fact that the kitchen doors were three feet away from the buffet tables! The room has very nice wood floors and ceilings and everything else is very simple so it is easy to decorate the room however you want. We had plenty of room for the cake and DJ as well, and we danced until the night was over. I was very happy that I chose to use this space for our special day:) read more