New Antioch Marina Boat Launch

The new Antioch Marina boat launch which opened last month, is a really nice place to get in the water.  It's located on the San Joaquin river in downtown Antioch near the well known Humphrey's restaurant.  As of right now it is free to launch until they install a self pay kiosk and then it will be $5.00 to launch but I am unsure if that will pertain to kayaks.  There are no restrooms at this point but they do have plans to build some.  I was hesitant to paddle hear due to boat traffic and the sometimes swift current but tonight was absolutely gorgeous!

There was a small craft advisory until 8:00 p.m. again today so we waited until 7:00 to go down and check it out.  The wind had died down to a gentle breeze and the max flood was predicted to be .41 knots at 8:35p.m.with high tide being at 8:49p.m. at 3.15 feet.  It was perfect and I was a bit surprised at how the river was actually going the opposite direction of what I expected.  My daughter and I got on the water at 7:30 and paddled west a little over a mile in 25 minutes.  We heard seals barking in the distance and tried to get a look at them but to no avail.  We turned around and paddled toward the Dow Wetlands Preserve.  We paddled just inside the preserve and spotted 10 otters playing in the marsh.  It kind of startled us because we hadn't seen any wildlife up to this point but what a treat!  We didn't stay long as the sun was setting quickly.

After exiting the Preserve we just floated with the tide back to the launch, barely putting our paddles in the water. It was a beautiful, relaxing hour on the water and I can't wait to get back out there!

Antioch Marina and Humphrey's in the background