Brannan Island

I paddled this area in February 2012.  Brannan Island is a state recreation area that offers camping and boating.  It's located between the Sacramento River and  Three Mile slough.  The park has 10 launch ramps, bathrooms and picnic area.  The ramp faces Three Mile slough but if you paddle towards the swim area, which is north of the launch, you can make an easy portage across the road to Seven Mile slough.  Keep in mind the tides as they effect the current in the Delta.  We paddled down Three Mile Slough for about a mile and then decided to head back towards Seven Mile slough  because we realized if we continued it would be a lot of work paddling against the current at the end of the day.  When we reached the swim area we decided to take a lunch break and discuss our options.  We decided to take a look at Seven Mile slough and see what the portage and current was like.

It turned out to be an easy portage and there seemed to be no current so we grabbed our boats and headed into Seven Mile slough.  Because there was no current, the water was a dark reddish color that didn't look inviting.


 It turned out to be a nice leisurely paddle and we enjoyed the scenery.  We saw a few birds but we were surprised we didn't see more wildlife that day.

Here is some info from the California parks website: Brannan Island
State Recreation Area is a maze of waterways through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This park northeast of San Francisco Bay, has countless islands and marshes with many wildlife habitats and many opportunities for recreation, including boating, windsurfing and swimming.
One of the outstanding water-oriented recreation areas in the world, the area offers great fishing, including striped bass, sturgeon, catfish, bluegill, perch and bullhead. Frank’s Tract, a protected wetland marsh, is home to beaver, muskrat, river otter, mink and 76 species of birds.

There is no launch fee but it is $8 for day use.  For more info, check out their site here.