Coronado / Glorietta Bay
Coronado Island · near Coronado (10 min ferry from downtown San Diego) · San Diego
Kayaking & SUP
At a glance
- Best season
- Year-round · Most pleasant April–October · Morning paddles with views of San Diego skyline are exceptional
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No permit. Free public launches at Glorietta Bay Park (1st St, Coronado), Tidelands Park, and Coronado Ferry Landing. Coronado Bridge (2.1 miles long) is a landmark visible from all bay paddling.
What is here
- Wildlife
- Brown pelicans · Cormorants · Bat rays · Leopard sharks occasionally · Harbor seals occasionally
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Kayaking & SUP detail
- Water types
- protected-bay
- Exposure
- sheltered
- Sup friendly
- Yes
- Wetsuit
- Boardshorts in summer · Light spring suit in winter · Same warm bay conditions as Mission Bay
- Tidal note
- Glorietta Bay (the sheltered east side of Coronado) is extremely well-protected and tide-tolerant. San Diego Bay between Coronado and downtown has moderate tidal current — cross the bay on slack tide or with a guide. The Coronado Bridge overhead creates a dramatic paddling backdrop.
- Intl tip
- The Hotel Del Coronado (1888, National Historic Landmark) is one of California's most architecturally significant buildings — its Victorian beach resort character is visible from the water and the interior is worth walking through regardless of whether you're staying. The Coronado Ferry from the Broadway Pier in downtown San Diego runs every 30 minutes ($5.25 each way) — no car required for this day trip.
The guide
Coronado is San Diego's other island — technically a peninsula, but accessible primarily by ferry or the dramatic Coronado Brid…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Coronado / Glorietta Bay — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 32.678, -117.172