Paddling at Lone Tree Point in Rodeo (again)

I'm going to write this up once I actually launch my kayak there.  In the meantime here are some thoughts about it.

The empty Joseph's Resort lot at Lone Tree

Until recently, the uninspiring area (adjacent to Lone Tree park) shown in the photo had a few derelict buildings on it, and a sign that said "private property."  Now the buildings and the piles of the junk are gone, leaving a sort-of paved area, a burnt-out derelict pier, and lots of trash.  Apparently you can park there now without upsetting anyone, and access a small rocky beach between the empty lot and the bay.  This means that you can get your kayak directly to the water - sort of.  You still have to climb across some rip-rap to get to the beach at the parking lot, which seems doable, but not as appealing as the older alternative: carrying, dragging, or carting the kayak and gear across the park to the beach near the tree and the picnic table.  The latter should be easier to do now that there is a sort-of parking lot, and I'm going to try it if I can get up early enough.  It seems like the summer westerlies would make this place a pain to deal with in the afternoon, so I'll just go to Eckley if it's later in the day.

Update: the empty lot next to Lone Tree is still private property, and the sheriff told me that he's supposed to arrest anyone who trespasses - but so many people are doing that, he just doesn't have the time to deal with it.

Beach, complete with sheriff and Corolla

I took another look at the wharf ruins on the lot, and noticed that there's a concrete ramp that leads directly to a sandy beach, so that you could (if it wasn't trespassing) unload your kayak directly onto the beach.  The concrete and wood remains of the pier act as a breakwater, so that part of the beach is protected from the wind and waves.

The green strip at the water's edge is either seaweed or dead eelgrass; I suppose I would shove all that aside if I wanted to put in my kayak.

The beach at Lone Tree

 For now, if I get a chance to launch at Lone Tree (that is, if I can get up and get packed in the early-to-mid morning) I'll park in the area outside of the empty lot and the park, and wheel all my stuff to the beach near the Lone Tree.  I hope the EBRPD will aquire the empty lot, even tho' that means the old wharf ruins will have to be torn down, since they're currently an ideal place for a small child's parents to develop an expensive lawsuit.

Update, August 2012:
The last time I went by Lone Tree a gate had been installed to block off the only parking adjacent to the park.  I suppose this was done after many complaints by the owners of the Joseph's Resort lot about trespassers on their property.  You may be able to park on the bridge at the end of Pacific Ave., or on the end of San Pablo Ave, and maybe in the marina (the gates are locked at 4:30 or 5:00pm).

So--you can probably still launch at Lone Tree, but it's become a bigger hassle.  Portage time (one way) was a few minutes to cart your stuff from the car to the beach; now it's probably five to ten minutes.  I've launched there a couple of times this summer, but I don't think I'm going to bother to launch there again, even tho it's one of the very few places that I know of where it's possible to get a kayak to the water on the east side of San Pablo Bay.  The other spots, incidentally, also suffer from limited access, or long portage times, or from poor access to the water when the tide is low.

Potential kayak put-ins on San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Bay

I've been trying to figure out where I could launch a kayak in Western Contra Costa County. The following is a short list of the places that I might try.

Lone Tree Point

Rodeo, Lone Tree Point

there is a small regional park on the San Pablo Bay shore here with a small sandy beach. There is room for several cars to park by the park entrance. There's an outhouse and running water, and that's it for facilities.

The beach remains sandy when the tide is out, and I think the water is still deep enough to allow launching.

I've seen someone launch a kayak here; he uses a dolly to get his boat to the beach, maybe from the neighborhood adjacent to the park.

Lone Tree Point photos: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=lone%20tree&w=24215152%40N04

The Rodeo marina

The Rodeo marina

The Rodeo marina seems to be silted in, and impassible at low tide. You might just as well launch at Lone Tree Point.

Rodeo, a bit north of the marina

There is small piece of regional park land, with parking for three or four cars, and another small sand beach. I've seen someone windsurfing here, but I don't know if it's passable when the tide's out. There are no facilities.

Low tide at the mouth of Pinole Creek

Pinole, Bayfront Park

Bayfront park is (I think) a city park surrounded by regional park land, on the east shore of San Pablo Bay. There's a sandy beach when the tide's in, and a whole lot of mud when the tide's out.

Bayfront Park beach at low tide

Pinole Creek at high tide

There is a crumbling boat launching ramp on Pinole Creek at the north end of the park, and it might be usable when the tide is in. Where the creek joins the bay there is a gravely-rocky beach that might be usable in a pinch. A bit to the north of the park, there is a sandy beach across the tracks from a residential block, and like the rest of the area it's probably too shallow to be usable when the tide's out.

The Albany Bulb beach

Albany, the Albany Bulb beach

At the north-west corner of the Golden Gate Fields lot there is a beach that's popular with dog-walkers and kitesurfers. It seems like it should be usable when the tide's out, and it might be somewhat sheltered from the chop that comes with the afternoon wind. There's plenty of room to park, and I think it has an outhouse and a water tap.