Washington State Boat Ramp Reviews

[Straander]

Wanted to put out my hard-gained knowledge of how using the various boat ramps around the state is. Hopefully this will be useful to someone here.

If the edit post function of the new forum is actually functional, then I'll be able to update this with more information as time goes on. I'll post the reviews in the order of how much I use each ramp.

Kenmore Boat Launch
Location : In the mouth of the samamish river and launches in to the northern tip of lake Washington
Cost: free but requires discovery pass
Amenities: restroom on site. No courtesy dock.
Parking: There is a medium amount of parking here and the ramp is moderately popular. If you show up on a sunny weekend, plan to arrive no later then 11am to find a parking spot.
Ramp details: 2 lanes wide, perfect ramp slope. Busy summer days means boats get lined up on both sides so you'll need to launch your boat with someone in it to maneuver to a place on shore that you can load up.
Pitfalls: Where the Samamish flows in to the lake gets very shallow for a large area. Another factor is that lake washington's water level drops by 1.75ft each winter until about mid April during which the route out from the ramp can be as shallow as 22" or less and very narrow. Boats with a fixed keel advised to use this ramp only for 7 months of the year.

Ballinger Lake boat ramp
Location : Ballinger lake, Mountlake Terrace
Cost: free
Amenities: restroom on site. Courtesy Dock
Parking: Extremely limited parking. "Trailer only" parking is never enforced. Not likely to find a spot on a warm summer weekend.
Ramp details: 1 lane ramp, good slope, good condition.
Pitfalls: Just the parking issue.

Magnusen Park Boat Launch, north seattle
Location : Magnusen park in north seattle. Launches about 2/3 of the way up lake washington across from kirkland
Cost: $12-14
Amenities: portapotties on site. Courtesy docks
Parking: There is a massive amount of parking spots. Have never had trouble parking even on a beautiful holiday weekend.
Ramp details: 4 lanes wide, multiple courtesy docks.
Pitfalls: Ramp slope is by far the most shallow of any ramp i've used. Prepare to use a trailer extension or to get your car's tail end very wet. Launching/retrieving area can be very busy on popular weekends.

14th ave nw Boat Ramp, Ballard
Location : Salmon bay just south of downtown Ballard. Launches at the entrance to the ship canal and is the best point to get your boat to lake union for some scenic sailing.
Cost: $free
Amenities: Courtesy docks, no restroom
Parking: Limited trailer parking but extremely limited utilization. Never seen even 1/3 of the spots used on a sunny weekend day.
Ramp details: 2 lanes wide. Perfect ramp slope.
Pitfalls: launches in to a narrow canal and requires about 2 miles of motoring each way to get to the sailing area in lake union. Fremont Drawbridge will need to be raised for boats with more then 30' mast height above water line.(My P165 just fits)

Eddie Vine Boat Ramp, Ballard
Location : Puget Sound on Ballard's coast just beyond the locks.
Cost: $12-14
Amenities: Courtesy docks, restroom
Parking: Decent Trailer parking. No issue launching on 2 different sundays.
Ramp details: Good ramp slope. 4 lanes of ramps.
Pitfalls: Ramp may not extend far enough in to the water during low tied. Had to abandon a day of sailing one time when i couldnt get my trailer deep enough.

Don Armeni Boat Ramp, West Seattle
Location : West Seattle facing Elliot Bay
Cost: $12-14
Amenities: Courtesy docks, restroom
Parking: Decent Trailer parking. No issue launching on a nice sunday.
Ramp details: Good ramp slope. 4 lanes of ramps.
Pitfalls: Ramp is made up of concrete slabs with deep gaps between them. Prepare for your boat to get seriously shaken around as its backed down the ramp.

10th Street Boat launches, Port of Everett Marina
Location : North of Everett centered on jetty island
Cost: $15
Amenities: Courtesy docks, restroom
Parking: Very large parking area. Shouldnt be an issue finding a spot
Ramp details: Good ramp slope. 13 lanes of ramps.
Pitfalls: May not be able to launch a keelboat during extreme low tied. Lots of very shallow areas in the vicinity, avoid exiting around the east end of Jetty island. occasionally strong currents between jetty island and the mainland. (I didnt sail in this area, only motored my boat to jetty island one day).

[Straander]

If someone else has used ramps in the state, feel free to reply with a review and I'll add it to the original post!

[talbot]

Thanks! I can add that the Everett ramps are in the Port of Everett marina. See their web site for costs. At extreme low tide you might have to wait to get a keelboat launched. Also at low tide you might not make it around the east end of Jetty Is., even in a day sailer. Sadly, I know this for a fact. Consider the 10th St. ramps the head of navigation, and exit to Possession Sound to the west, clockwise around the island.

[Straander]

Thank you Talbot. I've updated that info.

[Savra]

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone knows of a boat launch that might help me raise the mast on my Catalina 22?  Heading to the area for a club sail and will get there a few days late. Hoping to launch near Tacoma but would need help.

[talbot]

Don't  know about Tacoma. As I recall, the city marina in Olympia does not have a mast crane. Catalina 22's can raise their own masts with a gin pole, but you probably don't  want to engineer that on the spot. I remember that a neighbor had trouble finding a Puget Sound lift for his mast some years ago. But make some calls. There must be a way.