Crowds of paddleboarders are flocking to Lake Union for Seattle Paddle Rave

From the sky, it’s a swarm of colorful ovals dotting Lake Union’s blue surface.

From the water, it’s a throng of sun-kissed paddleboarders packed together so tightly you could hop from one board to the next.

Close your eyes, and it’s the sound of energetic beats, happy conversation and powerful bass pounding across the lake.

This is Seattle Paddle Rave, where hundreds of paddleboarders have gathered this month on Lake Union to listen to house music, enjoy the outdoors and meet each other. And despite only starting this summer, it’s already blown up on TikTok.

A video posted July 6 of the first paddle rave racked up more than 100,000 views. Since then, the next two events attracted increasing numbers of waterborne ravers.

Seattle Paddle Rave addresses a particular combination of desires in the city – community, music and being outside, organizer Erik Hillesheim said.

“People genuinely really like it when they show up, and are having a lot of fun,” he said. “So it’s just blown up organically.”

Free and open to the public, the event has guests RSVP online and show up with a paddleboard and life jacket.

Music blasts from a nearby boat, where a local DJ plays. And on Lake Union’s scenic waters, ambience is a given.

Paddleboards are also more accessible these days – thanks in part to inflatable options that are usually cheaper – making it an affordable alternative to a traditional boat party.

Hillesheim said he came up with the idea in June.

“People tie up on their boats and play music and have fun,” he said. “Why wouldn’t we do that with paddleboarding?”

After Hillesheim texted a few friends who got on board with the idea, they set up the first paddle rave for July 4. Some 125 people showed up, essentially just through word-of-mouth, Hillesheim said.

“We kind of knew we were onto something,” he said.

The next paddle rave on July 15 saw around 800 people flock to the lake, Hillesheim said. Three days later, on a Friday evening, he estimated more than 1,000 people showed up. Nearly 1,400 people had reserved a spot on the invite.

The crowd included a diversity of Seattleites – those new to the city, and those who have been here for years.

Some stood up on their boards to dance with music or pumped their paddles up in the air along with the beat. Others, like Jessi Gauvin, began the evening seated on their boards, enjoying company and conversation.

“It’s just a great way to get out and see Seattle,” Gauvin said. She had just come from her job at the University of Washington – a few minutes drive from the lake – and said a co-worker told her about the event.

Though this was Gauvin’s first paddle rave, she’s active in the city’s overall rave scene. It’s helped her make lasting friendships, she said.

“I’ve made more friends in Seattle at raves than I did in college,” she said.

And while a paddle rave doesn’t have the laser lights and dark ambience of a traditional rave, Sanam vonKaenel – floating next to Gauvin on the lake – said the surrounding natural beauty more than made up for it.

“Out here you don’t really need stage effects,” she said. “Look at our settings.”

Home to everything from luxury yachts to modest kayaks to seaplanes, Lake Union requires its visitors to share the waters responsibly. It’s also federally regulated, part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal system.

Hillesheim said the team worked with Coast Guard and Harbor Patrol to make sure other traffic could get through during the paddle rave.

“We just want to be great partners on the lake, to be a positive force of connection,” he said.

The July 15 rave coincided with Duck Dodge, an informal sailboat gathering held on Lake Union that’s now in its 51st year.

That’s how Kim Stirling, who regularly participates in Duck Dodge, learned about the paddle rave. After seeing a post about the rave on the Duck Dodge Facebook page, Stirling – who moved to Seattle two and half years ago – decided to come to the next one with a group of friends.

Working as a financial planner, Stirling said the paddle rave was a welcome change from the typical workday.

“I’m looking at the computer all day – you know, numbers and graphs – and talking to people at lots of meetings,” she said. “So this is a great way to unwind.”

As the event wound up after 8 p.m. and paddleboarders emerged from the water, Aryaa Singh and her friend stood deflating their board at Gas Works Park.

This was Singh’s first time paddleboarding, she said.

“I was kind of scared, but oh my god, the moment I came here it was amazing,” she said.

She described the combination of sun, Seattle weather and music as feeling “surreal,” and encouraged others to attend.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to make friends,” she said.

In a city fighting an alleged friend-making freeze – with more recent movers than most other populous U.S. cities – that’s an invitation that’s hard to pass up.

The Seattle Paddle Rave will take place every other week, and dates and times will alternate so everyone can attend, Hillesheim said. Future dates will be posted on the event’s Instagram page.