With the gateway to the coast on one side and California’s wine country on the other, San Francisco Bay is an extraordinary paddling destination. Imagine paddling by a silvery moon as the skylines of San Francisco twinkles around you. Such an outing is one of the most memorable paddling adventure you’ll ever experience. Or you can paddle up the gentle waters of the Oakland Estuary toward the marshes of San Leandro Bay, where you are treated to views of harbor seals, herons and a host of shorebirds.

The bay offers year round kayaking and fishing opportunities, but the bay is most popular in the summer. The quiet spring, fall, and winter seasons offer a slower pace to satisfy paddlers who yearn for a more peaceful atmosphere. San Francisco Bay is a part of the San Francisco Bay estuary system, which includes San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bay, the Carquinez Strait, the tidal marshes surrounding these waters, and river tributaries.

The San Francisco Bay estuary consists of 480-square miles and 12 islands. There are two separate areas: the northern, which passes south and westward from the Delta through Suisun and San Pablo Bays, and the southern (also called the South Bay) which extends southeastward toward San Jose. These two areas join in the Central Bay near the Golden Gate Bridge and flow out to the Pacific Ocean.

Northern, western and southern traffic sea lanes converge halfway inside the gulf toward San Francisco on the San Francisco precautionary area 11-miles offshore. From this point, the main channel flows shoreward through four sets of buoys to the Golden Gate. The channel divides the immense horseshoe shallows surrounding the gate into the wide South Bar and the northern Four Fathom Bank, atop which rests the Potato patch Shoal. Navigating in this area requires the utmost caution, as the seas will often vary with the weather, tides, and seasons, and may become impassible for paddlers.

Map of San Francisco Bay

  
 
 
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