ACTIVINO “PADDLE & WINE”
FULL DAY TOUR

Tour Length: 10 Hours
Tour Code: EV08P
Pick up: Downtown Hotels & Cruise Terminals
Departing: Check calendar or at private request
Returns: Check calendar or at private request
Activities: Paddling, interpretive inter-tidal beach exploration, wildlife spotting, birding, wine touring, tasting sightseeing with naturalist interpretation
Interests: Wine, sustainability in wine making, marine biology, sustainability, neighborhoods, locks, ecology, lighthouses, natural history, Wildlife; sea birds, seals, sea lions and possibly harbor porpoise!
Offset your Carbon Footprint: Please ask for a quote
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
Season: Year round
Tour Cost: $225 per escapist

Inclusions:
Hotel pick up and drop off, highly qualified and knowledgeable naturalist guide, travel in adventure outfitted luxury Mercedes Van or Jeep, morning tea with pastry, afternoon tea with local meats and cheeses, northwest style “On Safari” lunch at a winery, selected Washington wines and refreshments, all tasting fees, hosting and commentary at the wineries and comprehensive naturalist commentary from your Escape Artist guide.

Escape Plan:

The Active…
Many Seattleites cite our region’s natural beauty and proximity to outdoor adventures as their primary motivations for living here. In fact, you don’t even need to leave the city to get world class sea kayaking. Salmon Bay, located a scenic 20 minutes north from Downtown Seattle, accesses some of the most scenic and wildlife rich territory in the entire city. Starting from Golden Gardens Park your kayak tour will travel past Shilshole Bay Marina – mooring hundreds of yachts and sailboats – across the bay to West Point, the tip of 550-acre Discovery Park located in the Magnolia neighborhood. This natural oasis, the largest park in Seattle, boasts 2 miles of undisturbed beach and a 130 year-old lighthouse. This park is not only a refuge for the urban naturalist it also contains critical habitat for a diverse range of wildlife – Bald Eagles, Harbor Seals, Salamanders, River Otters, Ospreys, and much more. Heading into the bay, you will get an up close and personal view of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. Thousands of salmon find their way up the fish ladder, which provides access to their ancestral spawning grounds. Great Blue Herons, Kingfishers and Sea Lions all hang out in this area to take advantage of the migrating fish. Besides wildlife, the locks are also an exciting feat of engineering. From our vantage point, we’ll be able to see all size watercraft passing in and out of the locks.

The Vino…
Woodinville wineries share more than locality; they share a commitment to creating fine, world-class wines from the very best Washington vineyards. Our Woodinville Wine Trail Experience will take you on a tour of four of Woodinville’s most acclaimed boutique wineries*** in an intimate and relaxed setting. The spotlight is on more than just the quality of the wine. Enjoy tasting and learning about these unique Washington wines in a relaxed and casual atmosphere. Each visit will dig a little deeper to explore the local winemaking history and the art of viticulture. Enjoy one-of-a-kind wines at the tasting room of Hollywood Hill Vineyards, the only winery with a vineyard in Woodinville. The handcrafted wines you will taste here are unique, delicious, and produced in very small quantities. On many occasions we may even be able to visit their vineyard and winery located at the winemaker’s home. Be treated to a visit to DeLille Cellars and enjoy their award winning wines while taking in the stunning architecture of their traditional "chai" styled winery or in the comfort of their new tasting room. At JM Cellars enjoy tasting their wines fireside before touring the cellar room. We may even be able to taste right from the barrel while being educated by the winemaker! Finish your visit with an interpretive nature walk through the on-site native wetland. Another featured winery that may be on the itinerary is Covington Cellars, serving up delicious wines made from the highest quality fruit in small quantities. View their entire production facility, chat with the winemaker and sip some wine straight from the barrel! At Airfield Estates you will learn about the history of this grape growing family while tasting some excellent wines. Their unique tasting room resembles their Easern Washington Winery built on a World War II airbase.

**No previous paddling experience is necessary to enjoy this trip.

*** In the event of increment weather on the Puget Sound the paddle location may switch to Lake Union with the Seattle Skyline as the backdrop!

This tour can be customized as a private experience or corporate retreat.

Check out Calendar of Escape Routes for Scheduled Departures!

Inquire about making this a multi-day escape encompassing Mt Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, The Wine Country or San Juan Islands into an incredible Northwest Adventure!

We highly recommend ending the night at one of the three locations of the Purple Café and Wine Bar, offering a wide range of fine cuisine and an extensive wine list featuring a number of Washington wines. If your taste is for seafood, we highly recommend the Waterfront Seafood Grill at Pier 70, which offers the freshest fish and seafood plus an extensive wine list. For excellent vegetarian cuisine we recommend Café Flora in the Madison Valley neighborhood of Seattle. Try their Portobella Wellington!

***The four wineries that your tour will visit will include one or more of the above featured winery partners and may include one or more of these acclaimed wineries: Brian Carter Cellars, Chateau Ste. Michelle, or Alexandria Nicole Cellars. Your Escape Artist guide will confirm the itinerary for your specific Wine Trail.

Please note: Our Escape Artist guides provide a wine trail experience that is unique, informative and memorable, and they do everything possible to follow the scheduled itinerary of winery visits, which typically follow closely from one to the next. On rare occasion scheduling conflicts and operational situations beyond our control (traffic conditions, for example) may delay the timing of a wine tour in progress and may result in a last-minute substitution or omission of a scheduled winery visit. We appreciate our clients’ understanding in such rare circumstances.