When Lollie Groth lived in Maui, she loved to catch waves while surfing with her friends. Now, living in Burton, she says she likes to “walk” on water.

Groth is one of a growing number of Islanders who have caught on to an emerging aquatic sport: stand-up paddleboarding. The Vashon Park District has even caught the craze and now offers two paddleboards to rent by the hour at its kayak center.

Vashon is the perfect place to paddle, Groth said, as its many harbors and inlets shelter paddlers from the wind and waves. And paddling from her home on the Burton Peninsula, she said, she’s often joined by seals that swim curiously around her.

“It’s really sort of calming,” she said. “It’s kind of like walking but on the water, or kayaking except you’re standing up.”

Stand-up paddleboarding originated decades ago in Hawaii when surfers began to stand or kneel on their boards and propel themselves with one paddle, sometimes catching waves in the process. The new sport made its way to the mainland United States, and now most surf shops and kayak retailers in the Puget Sound area offer special paddleboards as well. The standing paddlers — sometimes clad in wet suits, other times in no more than a bathing suit — are frequently spotted on Lake Union and at other hot spots for water sports. Some kayak centers even offer classes teaching people how to do yoga and pilates on the floating boards.

In recent years the trend made its way to the quiet shores of Vashon. On calm days, paddlers can often be seen at KVI Beach, Tramp Harbor and Quartermaster Harbor.

“It’s becoming more and more popular around where we are,” said Mia Croonquist, a high school rower who lives on inner Quartermaster Harbor.

Croonquist’s family has a couple of paddleboards and their neighbors on each side have gotten boards, too.

“Two summers ago there was like one, and now there’s like six,” Croonquist said. “A lot of people are finding out about it.”

While many describe paddleboarding as calming and even meditative, Croonquist says it’s also fun to cut through the water fast, and paddling quickly makes for good exercise.

“You can paddle around and enjoy the calm water, or if you really want to, it can be a great core workout,” she said.

Islander Wilson Abbot, an avid windsurfer who sometimes sails or kayaks, said that in recent years he has taken to stand-up paddleboarding for its simplicity. Abbott, 64, said he first saw paddleboarders at a beach on Whidbey Island. He likes that paddleboarding doesn’t rely on the wind, he said, and he has found the board he purchased to be much easier to transport than a kayak. His favorite spot to paddle is KVI Beach.

“I liked the idea that with paddleboarding I didn’t have to be confined to a cockpit or a kayak,” he said. “I could stand on it, sit down and paddle or lay on it and float around if I wanted. … I like the minimalist sort of aspect.”

Susan McCabe, program director at the Vashon Park District, said that last summer a surprising number of people told the park district they wished they could try paddleboarding at its Jensen Point kayak center. McCabe herself tried paddleboarding in Los Angeles before ordering boards for the district. She called the sport “challenging without being terrifying.”

“At first I was afraid to fall in,” she added. “I fell in once, and after that I had a great time.”

The kayak center’s two new boards —  big and sturdy at 10 and 11 feet long — have been popular so far, said Pam Wise, who runs the center. Beginners usually stick close to the shore, she said, but she’s also been surprised to see paddleboarders keep up with kayakers.

“They’ve been a real happy-making thing for our customers,” Wise said.

What’s most surprising to Wise, though, is the range in ages of paddleboarders. Teens seem to love the boards, she said, but older people get out there as well. Just last week, she said, a man who looked to be in his 70s rented one.

“He got on it and went out and had a great time,” Wise said.

Frequent paddleboarders, however, say they wish more Islanders would join them on the water. Abbott said he hardly ever sees paddlers at Vashon beaches, and Groth said that notices she posted at both Café Luna and the Burton Coffee Stand seeking a paddling partner got no responses.

“If there were more paddleboarders on the Island, it would be fun to have a race or do something,” she said.

Croonquist, however, said paddleboarding is still catching on. More and more of her friends, she said, are begging to go out on the boards.

“If you don’t have one you don’t really think about it,” she said. “But when you see one out there, you’re like, ‘I want to try that.’”

The Vashon Kayak Center offers paddleboards to rent for $15 an hour. The cost includes a paddle, wetsuit, leash and lifejacket. The boards can be reserved in advance by calling the kayak center at 463-9257.