There’s a new “insider” tour of the Ballard Locks that is guided by a local expert and can be enjoyed whenever you want at your own pace. Yodio Tours, a local company headed by serial entrepreneur Clay Loges, has launched its new Android app featuring several digital tours of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.

Created by a third generation Ballardite, the self-paced tours combine the experience of a seasoned crab boat skipper and the latest of technologies to create a digital walking tour for getting the best experience from a visit to the Ballard Locks.

The Android tour application uses GPS to locate nearby tours on a map, and all tours are free for tourists and sightseers alike. Preview the free tours online at www.YodioTours.com or download the illustrated podcasts from iTunes for use on their iPod or iPhone.

Each Yodio Tour is created and narrated by a local fixture in the community, offering a unique way to check out a city with a local enthusiast -- and the tours can be taken at your own pace and at a time convenient for you and your Android phone or an iPod or iPhone.

“The Ballard Locks are the second most visited attraction in Seattle, but few enjoy the true experience with the back stories about the locks, the boats and the fish ladder,” said Captain Gary Covich, a third generation Seattle native and the author/guide for this tour.

“This digital tour is a clever new way to interact with smart-phone-carrying tourists. Using my digital guide to share a Seattle gem like the Locks gives sightseers the full experience without me trying to be an in-person guide walking backwards shouting to my flock as they follow my lead.”

The tour content includes:

- The historic locks
- A walk over top of the locks to the fish ladder
- The best close up explanation of the lock operations as work and pleasure boats pass through the locks

“We want to use this combination of new technologies to get people outdoors, to connect people to the world around them, and to immerse them in a favorite Seattle experience,” said Clay Loges, a co-founder of Seattle-based Yodio Tours. "This is a new way to travel -- to let your smart phone become your tour guide."

Available in both English and Japanese, the Ballard Locks tour can run 40 minutes and while the actual narration includes 18 minutes of commentary by Captain Covich. The GPS feature of the tours helps every visitor to start at the gates to the Ballard Locks. And so begins the captain’s very personal tour of his familiar Ballard Locks where his grandfather was once one of the laborers during the seasonal lulls in the fishing.

The Ballard Locks tour joins several dozen tours being offered for free by Yodio Tours. The new tour experiences include the following destinations: Pioneer Square, International District, Olympic Sculpture Park, and the Public Market.

And for the fans of Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” there is a back story tour of Seattle’s crab fleet titled, “Deadliest Tour” also narrated by Captain Gary Covich. All tours can be viewed online at www.YodioTours.com where there is the option to download for free.

There are several ways people can enjoy Chittenden “Ballard” Locks:
View the tour on-line at http://www.YodioTours.com; download it for free from iTunes for your iPod or iPhone; or install the free Android app by searching “yodio tours” on the Android Market.

The tour is as simple to use as an audio guide in a museum -- except you're walking the streets of the city with a friendly insider while using your Android phone (or iPod or iPhone). Each of the tours is free, the Android app is free, and the tours generally take less than an hour. You can preview the tours and get more information at http://www.YodioTours.com.