Where to Go Boating
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Where to Go Boating
Sept 2010
Went kayaking for the first time on a recent trip to
Vancouver island. Parents and a five year old, and we loved
it.
So where are good options to rent a kayak and go out in the
Bay Area? Or outside of the bay area?
Thanks.
Bryan in Oakland
I've been on a full-moon paddle with Sea Trek
(www.seatrek.com) out of Sausalito and it was really fun
(and I'm a newbie who's terrified of deep water, so that's
saying a lot). They do paddles and longer treks all over
the Pacific Coast, I think. There's also kayaking at Jack
London Square (www.calkayak.com) and even at Lake Chabot
(www.ebparks.org/parks/lake_chabot) - you can rent there or
they also do classes - check the most recent 'Regional in
Nature' program guide (in local papers or at
www.ebparks.org/activities) for details. Once and Future
Kayaker
You can rent sit on top kayaks, singles and doubles, at Cal
Adventures at Berkeley Marina. Even better, take one of
their kayaking classes. Then you can rent the kayaks with
sprayskirts. There is also a great full moon paddle where
you don't need to have experience. Google CAL Recreational
Sports and you will find the link under adult programs.
kathryn
Try Sea Trek Kayaking in Sausalito. http://www.seatrek.com/
July 2010
We are considering taking an overnight kayak trip with our
kids (6 and 8). Any suggestions on where to go? We want
to bring our camping gear attached/packed in our kayak and
paddle to our destination. This would be a one night trip
for our first time.
Love the Outdoors
We recently did a small overnight kayaking trip with our 3
year old daughter in Tomales Bay. It was a great experience
and a nice easy trip. You would need to get an overnight
permit from the Point Reyes Station. We launched our kayak
(with all the o/night gear) from Marshall. You can camp at
any of the beaches and there is great kayaking/exploring
around. Michelle
try Lake Sonoma. we just took our 3&5 yos on a 3night canoe
camping trip there to Thumb camp. The canoe paddle took us
about 90 minutes. the campsites are nice, water clear.
lots of bird watching. quiet. just lovely! camper
Hearts Desire Beach at Point Reyes, on Tomales Bay
http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/kayak.htm
R.K.
June 2009
We had a great time canoeing on the Russian River last year when our son
was 3.
Any other good options in Northern California for canoeing and swimming
(not rafting)? Somewhere that would rent boats and pick you up and,
hopefully, also have camping?
Thanks.
Bryan
I enjoyed canoeing with my young kids at several lakes in the
Lassen National Park area: Butt Lake, Juniper Lake, and Willow Lake
(which was my favorite). Expect to drive in on gravel roads and
there is camping at the latter two sites (but you have to walk in a
bit to the Willow Lake campground, which means not too many people
go there).
We also canoeing in Elkhorn Slough, the estuary area near Oakland
Airport (off Swan Road?). I think you can rent boats at Lake
Mendocino, which also has some nice camping.
Check out Ann Dwyer's Easy Waters of California: A Guide Book for
New and Novice Canoeists and Kayakers. ISBN 0-9672880-0-2.
kl
Oct 2008
hi- we're looking for a place to take our 2-year-old boating in Oakland
or Berkeley. any suggestions are appreciated. thank you.
Shari
You can try Lake Merritt in Oakland. The water is calm but a bit smelly at
times. You can rent a paddleboar or a sail boat.
They even have a gondola ride like the ones in Italy.
LT
June 2007
My husband and I would like to go out sailing on the bay, but aren't sure who/what organization to
contact. We want to go out for a few hours during the day and maybe have lunch included. Any good
recommendations?
Thank you!
OCSC Sailing (go to: http://www.ocscsailing.com ) My husband surprised me for Mother's Day
w/a catamaran sail around Angel Island - it felt like a vacation :-) We're going again for
the 4th - WooHoo! (I'm not supposed to know, but *I'M* the one who does the Quicken in this
family... ;-D I can't wait...
anon
April 2005
Does anybody have recommendations about where to boat,
stay or have fun in the Delta? After years of delayed
gratification, my husband finally got a (small) fishing/ski
boat and (a year later) a used Suburban to pull it. We're
trying to figure out where to go with our three kids besides
San Pablo Reservoir (close and fishable), and Lake Tahoe
(too far for a one day trip). The 1000 miles of waterway in
the Delta sound great, but are a little daunting - where
should we start? Any recommendations for family friendly
locations? Which yahoo-filled sloughs should we avoid?
At this point we mostly fish or tube, though the kids would
like to learn how to water ski or wake board someday...
Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!
Trying to be a supportive boating wife...
Having grown up in Rio Vista, I can attest to the fact that there
is no shortage of places to hang out for a day between Antioch
and Sacramento and Stockton -- the Sacramento & San Joaquin
Rivers. There is a pretty good website at
http://www.californiadelta.org/ that has maps and ideas about
where to go on the Delta.
A great place to start may be Brannan Island State Park -- it is
very family friendly but, like all places on the Delta, will get
crowded in the summer. However, it is very easy & quick to get
to from the central Bay Area (about 45 minutes to one hour from
Pinole). Brannan Island is right outside of Rio Vista (across
the river) but its sloughs are a little more protected. Rio
Vista has a city dock and county park from which you can launch
right out into the Sacramento River but the main river is very
daunting and not the best place for a small boat (it is a main
shipping lane and the undertows are treacherous). There are also
many places off of Highway 4 -- between Stockton and
Antioch/Oakly but I'm not as familiar with those places.
I don't think there's anywhere you can really go to in the Delta
where you won't find some crazies on any given day but the
smaller sloughs that are more dead-ended will be the best for
beginners -- rather than the main rivers. There are so many fun
things to do all along the Sacramento & San Joquin Rivers that it
is difficult to pinpoint the BEST places. The best thing may be
to start at the outskirts,Brannan Island and Rio Vista, and work
your way up to Sacramento or vice versa.
VA
June 2004
I would like a recommendation for a camping spot for this summer
that has a lake so that we can go canoeing (we don't have our
canoe yet, just hopeful, have one to sell?) and swimming. We
have a 2.5 year old and are meeting up with 2 more people coming
from LA, so therefore, we would like to choose a place between
the Bay Area and LA, inland or near coast, either way. (We would
also like to get some recommendations for camping spots for
canoers anywhere in No. Cal. for future reference.)We are tent
campers and like a peaceful place to relax and enjoy. Thanks....
lindsay
Wouldn't necessarily work for this trip, but we had an AMAZING
canoe camping experience at Juniper Lake on the east side of
Lassen National Park a couple of years ago...wow. We went mid-
week and pretty much had the place to ourselves. Easily one of
the most fabulous places we've camped, and since they don't
allow motorized boats and have no launch ramps, it's pretty much
all canoes on the water. That's if there's anyone else on the
water, which there usually wasn't....
The water is so blue and clear that people think we've
Photoshopped our trip photos. In fact, my only hesitation about
recommending it is that I'd hate for too many people to know how
amazing a place it is.
There are some dismal warnings on their reservations web site
about the road conditions getting in, but we had no problems in
my 96 Mercury Sable station wagon (not exactly an offroad
vehicle...mind you, the noisy, arrogant jerks in the campground
next door got their SUV stuck and had to get a tow out, but
that's because, in addition to being jerks, they were also dumb
enough to park in the wetland...fortunately we only had to share
the campground with them for one night!) I would still call
ahead and ask the rangers if there are any road problems getting
in with whatever you're driving.
Sara
I haven't gone there for a few years (thus pre-baby), but Lake
Sonoma - north of Healdsburg - is a good place to go camping and
canoeing. Since it's a little drive to get there, we usually
reserved a car campsite for the first night, then a boat-in site
for the next few days (you can rent canoes there as well).
There are some nice wineries along the way, so you can stop
along the way for wine tasting too. The lake has a lot of
finger-like sections that make it feel more river-like and
private, which is nice. The only drawback is that motorized
boats can also use the lake (at least until you get to those
finger-like areas) so that is a bit annoying. Still, totally
worth checking out! Good luck!
http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/lakesonoma/camping.htm
Anon
We have camped for 7 years (since my younger one was 2) at Lake Eleanor, in
the Yosemite Wilderness. It is a dammed lake near Hetch-Hetchy. You can
either hike in over the ridge or, as we do, canoe in to several camp sites. You
will need to get a permit from the Ranger Station on Rte 120. You also have to
portage your canoe 1/4 mile up& down a hill, so having a light load and wheels
is a huge help, if not essential. With the appropriate planning, we still have
wonderful meals and more than enough of our wordly goods. Each trip has
certainly been an adventure-- bears once, canoeing to our site at midnight
another time, etc. I think we finally have it right. Once we get to the site, we
stay put, canoe, hike, find pristine swimming holes, etc. If you are willing to
put in a bit of effort to get to this wonderful place, you will love it and want to
go back for more--our kids look forward to it every year. Good luck and happy
camping!
canoe camping family
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