Today I paddled out of 101 Boardsports in San Rafael. I was surprised that you could paddle from practically the center of San Rafael. You get off of 101 at 4th Street and then head east. Within a half a mile you'll pass Whole Foods and then 101 Boardsports will be on the right.
It's a great shop, with a wide variety of boards, located right on San Rafael Creek. The creek looks like a canal in Florida, with houses and apartments all along, and boats parked out back. It's a mile down the creek to get to the Bay. When I went the tide was out and the water was extremely shallow. Unless I was right in the middle of the boat channel, my fin was just a few inches from hitting the ground. I saw a couple of motorboats that were
You hit the bay north of the Richmond San Rafael Bridge and can see San Quentin as well as the Carquinos Bridge in the distance. There are a couple of islands near the boat channel — it's a six mile paddle to go from the shop, around them and back.
It's not as pretty as Richardson's Bay, but makes an interesting and fun alternative for Bay Area paddling. It's also a great place to demo new boards.
