By Lisa Laughlin
Cover photo courtesy of Kort Laughlin
My best summer self is unlocked when I’m on a paddleboard. As soon as I leave the shore, I unwind and embrace a time and place where my only ambition is to reach a cluster of lily pads. Just a light internet search on the neuroscience behind Blue Mind Theory—a reference to how being on or near water ups our happy chemicals and lowers our stress hormones, blood pressure and heart rate—will confirm what many of us already know: being on the water has a certain magic.
Our region is rich with lakes that provide this magic. When I first moved to Spokane a decade ago, an inflatable paddleboard became high on my wish list. The paddleboard fit in the trunk of my Toyota Camry, and I could walk with its giant backpack carrying case from the parking lot to the lakeshore. I could pump it up on my own (the last few pounds of pressure a struggle, admittedly) and get out on the water for a solo paddle, for free. Those first few summers, my paddleboard allowed me spontaneous and independent recreation on the water. It was my shortcut to summer joy.
When I became a mom, paddleboarding ventures—like most everything else—became more difficult. A summer paddleboard session with my kids now requires more items than I can carry in one trip from the car: life jackets and water bottles, beach towels and sunscreen, sandals for each of us, a cooler with snacks, my paddle and board and whistle and waterproof bag, and a pair of goggles, because my toddler has insisted they are essential to look for fish. To be blunt, getting young kids to the lake is a pain in the ass, one that threatens to outweigh the very benefit we’re packing up in search of.
But, as it is with nearly every outdoor adventure, there will be one moment that keeps us coming back. Maybe it’s the sight of my daughter with a death grip on the nose of my paddleboard so she can hover her breath-clouded goggles an inch from the river water. She doesn’t see fish this way, but she stays like that for a long time, hopeful. Maybe it’s how my son exclaims when he sees the head of a turtle pop up above the waterline. I find moments of amazement too: the bright yellow lily flowers that are shaped like peonies make me peer deeply, as does the way the stems of the lilies snake down far below into the shadows. But I think the deeper thing is that being outside regulates me as a mother. It is just me and my kids and one board and the water, and I would do anything for that moment when we are buoyant.
If you’re looking to unlock that bit of magic on the water, family or no, do a quick search to figure out launch points on local lakes and whether the lake allows motorized craft or not. (You can paddle on either, but it’s a different experience.) A few of my favorite places to paddle around Spokane are Fish Lake, Silver Lake, Newman Lake, Liberty Lake and the flatwater stretch of the Spokane River at the Plese Flats put-in. (Just make sure you paddle against the current first. And don’t forget a Discover Pass, where needed.)
Lakes are just one way to tap into the beauty of summer in the Inland Northwest. Most of our writers in this issue have been adventuring locally for years, sharing their best tips and stories from the trail, saddle and lake. Check out our Summer Adventure Guide for ways to explore around town this summer. Or pick a ride or hike from one of our feature guides, from bike parks to British Columbia. Build your own adventure vehicle to explore like a snail, home on your back, or pick up a great book to read in a hammock. Think about the ways you access your best summer self, that moment when you feel buoyant. And remember it’s worth packing up for.
