Wallowa Lake clear-bottom kayak tours go viral. Does it live up to the hype?

JOSEPH — In northeast Oregon's Wallowa Mountains, a small family-run company recently exploded in popularity, thanks to unique kayaking trips and the power of social media.

The video I first saw on Instagram of JO Paddle in Joseph showed people paddling the crystal clear water of Wallowa Lake at night surrounded by snow-capped mountains and lights shining through the bottoms of clear boats.

Each boat has a different colored LED rim, and watching them glide across the glassy lake was mesmerizing.

I wanted to see it for myself. And I was far from the only one.

From small business to social media sensation

Wallowa Lake attracts thousands of people each year, drawn to everything from the popular kokanee fishing to the famed "Oregon Alps" backdrop.

JO Paddle has put its own spin on things. The company rents clear-bottom kayaks and paddleboards in addition to nighttime lit-up tours. It's owned and operated by a married couple, Joshua and Hannah Shoffner, as well as their 18-year-old daughter, Samantha.

The Shoffners inherited the clear boats from a different family two seasons after they started tours in 2018. While other businesses lost their footing during the COVID-19 pandemic, JO Paddle found theirs by tweaking their trips.

"It evolves constantly," Joshua Shoffner said. "Every change or new development we've made comes directly from our guests. We see the need there, or we see them interested in something, so we just keep adding that to our program."

The nighttime kayak tour is by far the most popular trip they offer. Many people have made it a bucket list item, with some taking trips to the remote eastern region specifically for the adventure. One reason for the boom was an assist from social media.

Renee Anderson, from Sunriver, or "Wild Oregon Girl" on social media, highlighted the experience on her personal TikTok and Instagram accounts as well as on Travel Oregon, the state's official tourism account, after visiting during Memorial Day weekend this year.

She went to Joseph to review the century-old Wallowa Lake Lodge, but her content on JO Paddle is what exploded. Her video of the experience has more than 5.6 million views on Instagram, reaching people from all over the world.

“I made the video driving home and posted it right before we went out of service, so I couldn't look at it for a while. And about four hours later, I opened my phone and I saw that it was already like going viral,” Anderson said. “I didn’t think people would really drive all the way to Joseph to do it.”

But people definitely have. Business is booming, and the family of three is expanding operations to add a morning nature tour next year.

“We've had so many people learning about how close we are to them – from Pendleton all the way to nine hours away – just traveling to do this tour,” Hannah Shoffner said.

Gearing up for nighttime kayak tour on Wallowa Lake

I scheduled my nighttime kayak tour at the end of the season in late September. Once I arrived, greeted by cold rain and high winds, it was easy to see why the tours end before the weather gets really harsh.

I actually had to extend my trip for the experience, as the company cancelled the tour because the lake was too choppy to be safe.

I almost missed the boat completely, standing in the rain and watching the Wallowa Lake tide with Joshua, the nighttime tour guide, right before the experience was scheduled to start. Luckily, he determined it just barely safe to go out, and the seven other guests and I got bundled up for a chilly evening on the lake.

I personally love paddling and have quite a bit of kayaking experience, but the nighttime tour is designed for people of all skill levels.

“We have a friend that came up just a few weeks ago and she did it and said, 'it's like the best thing ever,’” said Rebecca Maddox, who drove nine hours from Medford with her husband Tommy for their wedding anniversary. “I was like, ‘I've already made my reservation!’”

The tour starts at different times depending on the season, but usually when the sun is just visible above the Wallowa Mountains. The boats are designed for either one or two people each and are pretty easy to slide into, though they get pretty slick when water gets inside.

Despite having to stand and wait in sub 50-degree temperatures while Joshua delivered his 15-minute safety briefing and general overview of the tour, it was all smiles before landing in the water.

Each boat is decked out with LED lights, with colored edges and spotlights on the bottom to show the water below. They’re also not shaped like a typical kayak, narrow with a small cockpit. They’re kind of kayak-canoe-hybrids, which makes them a little uncomfortable after a long time paddling as it’s hard to find a comfortable way to rest your legs.

Exploring the lake

What you sacrifice in long-term comfort you get back in a unique opportunity to glide across a beautiful lake while seeing into the water below. As you look down, the lake floor of rocks and passing fish are in full view.

The landscape is simply stunning, but Joshua’s tour brought it to life. The Shoffner family isn’t originally from the area, but Joshua shows a passion for helping others fall in love with eastern Oregon the way he clearly has.

“The tight-knit community, the peace and the love are what keep us all here,” he said.

The sky began to darken quickly, creating a spooky atmosphere, especially as Joshua began telling stories of the mythical Wallowa Lake monster, or Wally, below the surface (if you've heard of the Loch Ness monster, it's pretty similar).

The Nez Perce say the up to 20-foot-long creature lurks in the depths of the lake, having taken lives of tribal members going back centuries. The ability to see into the sparkling water definitely made me a little nervous.

The inkling of impending doom was soon overpowered by awe, though, as we traveled to different parts of the lake, Joshua noting everything from granite packed near the shore to beautiful vacation houses along the east moraine.

We had the lake completely to ourselves, and while faint whooshes of cars on the nearby roads were still audible, the crisp fall air and still mountain landscape created an idyllic atmosphere.

My favorite moment of the night arrived as Joshua turned off all the colored lights on the boats to allow everyone to fully experience the quiet and paddle around freely in the darkness.

While we were given a cloudy night, obscuring the stars, it was easy to imagine how beautiful it would be to watch a clear sky. Over the summer, there were meteor showers that stopped the tour, and everyone paddled to the middle of the lake to watch.

“What we're trying to offer is the peace part of this,” Hannah said after the tour ended. “The boats are fun, but … as you can see, the glass water is really where it’s at.”

Glacier Clear Nighttime Adventure Tour

In a nutshell: Paddle Wallowa Lake in a clear bottom boat while hearing stories of the surrounding area.

Location: Meet at the north end of Wallowa Lake boat ramp in Joseph.

Difficulty: Easy, contact for accommodations

When to go: Summer to early fall

Price: $155 per kayak (up to two people)

Olivia Stevens is the Statesman Journal's fall 2023 outdoors intern. She can be reached at OStevens@statesmanjournal.com or on Twitter @byoliviastevens.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Wallowa Lake clear-bottom kayak tours go viral