Sausalito / Angel Island
Sausalito / Marin County · near Sausalito · SF Bay Area
Kayaking & SUP
At a glance
- Best season
- Spring and fall best · Summer afternoon wind (15–25mph) makes afternoon crossing difficult · Morning departures essential
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No permit for general Bay paddling. Launch from Sausalito waterfront (multiple public beaches). Angel Island State Park: free beach landing, state park day use fee for facilities.
What is here
- Wildlife
- Harbor seals (haul out near Alcatraz and Marin shoreline) · Humpback whales (summer, sometimes visible from the Bay) · Shorebirds · Cormorants · Sea lions at Pier 39 visible from water
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- No
Kayaking & SUP detail
- Water types
- protected-bay · open-ocean
- Exposure
- moderate
- Sup friendly
- No
- Wetsuit
- 5mm fullsuit recommended · San Francisco Bay water is 54–58°F year-round · Cold-water immersion is a real risk
- Tidal note
- San Francisco Bay has some of the strongest tidal currents on the West Coast. The Gate itself (under the Golden Gate Bridge) is expert-only. Sausalito-to-Angel-Island crossing is intermediate — time it around slack tide. Sea Trek and other outfitters will not take beginners across without a guide.
- Intl tip
- Sea Trek is based in Sausalito at Schoonmaker Marina. The Golden Gate Bridge kayak tour is the most booked experience and the most important to reserve in advance — summer weekends fill months ahead. Sausalito's waterfront (restaurants, houseboat community, art galleries) is the natural post-paddle destination before the ferry back to San Francisco.
The guide
The Golden Gate Bridge, from water level in a kayak, is one of the most extraordinary experiences California outdoor recreation…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Sausalito / Angel Island — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.8591, -122.4853