MORRO BAY

MORRO BAY Kayak, Canoe and Stand Up Paddle Board (SUP) Guide

San Luis Obispo County, California

The protected waters by Morro Bay provide excellent paddling oportunities for canoists, kayakers and paddle board paddlers. One can explore the many birds found in the marshlands of the bay or paddle out to the sandspit to look around and picnic. The large east thumb of the bay by the south end of Morro Bay State park has the largest marshland area where many different types of birds can be seen. Scroll down the page and keep reading for more information.

MORRO BAY MAPS

PORT SAN LUIS TIDES - very close so tides about the same with some delay inside bay.

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Be sure to check your tides before paddling Morro bay:

1. The narrow north end neck of the bay can get a fairly strong current.

2. When you're out of your canoe/kayak exploring the sand spit, you want to be careful that a rising tide doesn't sweep your vessel away or a falling tide leave you high and dry.

While the waters inside Morro Bay are calm and protected, Morro Bay's harbor mouth is another story. If you decide to paddle outside of the harbor use extreme caution and be sure to check the swell and tides. The Morro Bay Harbor mouth is one of the most hazardous harbor entrances on the entire California coast. Often, especially in the winter, very large waves hit the coast here. Shallow and shifting sandbar conditions can create hazardous situations. Sometimes, huge closeout waves break across the harbor mouth.

The Morro Bay boat launch in Tidelands Park at the end of Embarcadero is an outstanding free launch spot with free parking. You can easily launch from here at high or low tide. It's only a short paddle across the bay from here to the sandspit. To reach the Tidelands Park, exit highway 1 at Morro Bay Blvd. and head west to Harbor St. where you take a halfright. Take Harbor St. until it ends at Embarcadero. Go left (south) on Embarcadero which ends at Tidelands Park.

Morro Bay State Park also has a launch spot. Morro Bay State Park is located 1 mile south of highway 1 on South Bay Blvd.

There are also high tide only launch spots at Baywood Park Beach and Second Street Pier. These spots are reached from highway 1 by taking South Bay Blvd. to Santa Ysabel. They are near the west end of Santa Ysabel.

There is also a launch spot from a small beach along Coleman. You can park very close to this excellent launch spot.

--There is a campground at Morro Bay State Park and at Morro Strand State Beach.

Looking across Morro Bay toward sand spit and Morro Rock:

Kayaking launch spot by Coleman in Morro Bay by Morro Rock:

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MONTANA DE ORO

Montana De Oro is just south of Morro Bay.

MONTANA DE ORO MAPS

PORT SAN LUIS TIDES - very close so tides about the same

The waters by Montana De Oro state park often have large surf. Occasionally, when the surf is small and the sea calm, Spooners Cove provides an excellent launch spot for some outstanding kayaking.

After launching from the small beach at Spooners Cove, you should paddle west until you are beyond the finger rocks and extending reefs on the south side of the cove. From here paddling south is most interesting. There are many interesting rocky coves you can explore. Between many of the coves there are finger rocks with submerged reefs that extend further west--similar to the reef on the south side of Spooners Cove. You may need to paddle out around these reefs as set waves may break on them.

There are also many hiking trails in Montana De Oro State Park. You can use the Bluff Trail to scout out the coast before you Kayak.

--Restrooms and a campground is located here.

See more pictures of the Central California Coast

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