Lakeside business provides unique lake excursions
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran leads kayakers out onto Flathead Lake from Somers Bay during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Justin and Kelsey Flake, new owners of Sea Me Paddle in Lakeside, pictured at the Somers Boat Launch on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran and co-owner Justin Flake launch kayaks at the Somers Boat Launch during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Paddling out onto Flathead Lake from Somers Bay during a Sea Me Paddle kayak tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
An osprey perches in a tree on an island in Somers Bay during a kayak tour with Sea Me Paddle on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran leads kayakers across Flathead Lake during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran and co-owner Justin Flake lead kayakers out onto Flathead Lake from Somers Bay during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran leads kayakers across Flathead Lake during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran leads kayakers out onto Flathead Lake from Somers Bay during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
When guiding a group of kayakers on Flathead Lake, Hunter Oliver likes to point out the wildlife, such as nesting ospreys, bighorn sheep and elusive otters.
Other guides prefer covering historical events or significant people. Whatever the topic, it’s a unique experience offered by Sea Me Paddle, which also offers rentals, based out of Lakeside.
Recently, Sea Me Paddle has found new ownership in Justin and Kelsey Flake. With Kelsey’s encouragement, Justin left his career as a stockbroker in October of 2023 to buy the company from the former owners, BJ and Joli Johnson.
“This was really a passion project for the original owners and we're trying to match their enthusiasm,” said Justin. “They loved doing this and had it all figured out. The tours run really smoothly.”
The business, under Tour Glacier, also offers a variety of tours in Glacier National Park and winter tours around the Flathead Valley.
Suitably, the couple avidly spends their free time outdoors, so most days hardly feel like work, they said.
“It's energizing,” said Justin. “Right now, I work seven days and sometimes 80 hours per week. Honestly, I never complain about it. We're in the business of helping people to have fun. Almost everybody we come in contact with is on vacation and they're all in a great mood and really excited to be here, so it's rewarding. We get to feed off that positivity all day long.”
Groups are kept close together and have two guides, but sometimes three depending on the tour’s size. After receiving a safety demonstration, kayakers set out for an adventure of their choosing. Some excursions include Cedar Island, Whitefish Lake, and Somers Bay, but the outfitter’s most popular tour is Wild Horse Island where kayakers learn about the island’s geographical, cultural and biological wonders.
Since taking over, Justin and Kelsey have found that tourists enjoy the concierge experience and seeing sights as the locals do, so in addition to their outdoor adventures, the Flakes have started offering brewery, rodeo and baseball tours. For their winter rodeo tour, skiers are picked up from Big Mountain and eat at Piggyback Barbecue before heading out with a rodeo savvy tour guide.
“Our tour guide grew up on a ranch doing rodeo, so he knows everything about it and has so many stories and tells tourists what to expect,” said Justin. “This winter, we had a dozen people from Philadelphia and none of them had ever been to a rodeo. The Brash Family has been very friendly with us so they organized the clown and the rodeo queen and princesses to take pictures with us. Our group got such a kick out of it.”
A family business, Kelsey and Justin’s four children often accompany them and help run tours.
“We love the idea of having a family business,” said Kelsey.
“Our son who's a junior went on a winter tour with us, and he took the responsibility of helping this older lady. She needed more help, and he was there to assist. He still talks about her,” said Justin.
In addition to the kayak rentals and tours, the company offers winter adventures like back-country skiing, snowshoeing, and driving tours of Glacier National Park all of which operate under the name Tour Glacier. On tours, guests have been lucky enough to see moose, bald eagles, bears, and other wildlife.
“In March, I spent 26 out of 30 days in the park which was just like a dream,” said Justin. “On a snowshoeing tour, we saw moose tracks in the forest and then we got up on this ridge and while we were overlooking these beaver dams, ponds, and the mountains, this girl turns to me and she says, ‘I think this is the coolest thing I've ever done.’ And, I said, ‘Me too.’ It was just an amazing day.”
Sea Me Paddle is located at 7220 U.S. 93 S, Suite 3 in Lakeside and can be contacted by email info@seamepaddle.com or phone 406-709-2124.
Reporter Summer Zalesky may be reached at szalesky@dailyinterlake.com.
Justin and Kelsey Flake, new owners of Sea Me Paddle in Lakeside, pictured at the Somers Boat Launch on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran and co-owner Justin Flake launch kayaks at the Somers Boat Launch during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Paddling out onto Flathead Lake from Somers Bay during a Sea Me Paddle kayak tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
An osprey perches in a tree on an island in Somers Bay during a kayak tour with Sea Me Paddle on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran leads kayakers across Flathead Lake during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran and co-owner Justin Flake lead kayakers out onto Flathead Lake from Somers Bay during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran leads kayakers across Flathead Lake during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Sea Me Paddle guide Tyler Cohran leads kayakers out onto Flathead Lake from Somers Bay during a tour on Friday, June 14. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider