Kayaking Elkhorn Slough is a great activity for a one day trip from San Francisco. Our family loves kayaking and we tried it in many places: Russian River, Bodega Bay, Noyo River, Florida Keys, etc. For us nothing can beat fresh air and the smell of the ocean! Often kayaking also gives you an opportunity to see marine wildlife that you won’t be able to see otherwise, in its natural habitat. And it is great exercise too.
Elkhorn Slough has got to be one of our most favorite kayaking destinations because of the wildlife diversity and especially sea otters. This is one of the very few places along the California Coast where you can kayak with these adorable animals.
There are several important things you need to keep in mind before going for kayaking adventure in Elkhorn Slough and I will talk about then in this article.
WHAT IS ELKHORN SLOUGH
Elkhorn Slough is a 7 mile long tidal slough and estuary on Monterey Bay in Moss Landing, California. It is located about 100 miles South of San Francisco. It is California’s second largest estuary and it is home to Elkhorn Slough Nature Reserve.
WHEN TO ARRIVE
Elkhorn Slough is the busiest place where we have kayaked so far. Crowds spook the animals (which, obviously, try to hide) and also occupy all the available parking. If you have your own kayaks – come as early as possible. If you are renting – come around 9 am right before the opening of the rentals.
Another reason to arrive early is for your to be able to return early in the afternoon. Later in the afternoon winds from the ocean usually pick up. It is not unusual for those winds to be very strong so kayaking back will be very difficult while you will be at the end of your trip and tired.
PARKING AT ELKHORN SLOUGH
Parking gets very busy very quickly on the weekends not just because of the kayakers but also boaters because the parking to launch your kayak is located at the busy Moss Landing Marina. You cannot launch a kayak anywhere else at Elkhorn Slough.
Parking is $10 which needs to be paid in cash in an envelope. There is no attendant on duty so bring cash with you. The box to pay the parking fee is behind the brick restroom.
CHECK THE TIDES
Another difficulty with kayaking Elkhorn Slough is the tides. Paddling the strong incoming tide is very hard, especially for kids. So check the tides schedule before you go HERE so that you don’t have to paddle against a high tide.
WHERE TO RENT KAYAKS AT ELKHORN SLOUGH
We rented our kayaks (as part of the tour) at Monterey Bay Kayaks right at the Moss Landing marina. They have 1-, 2- and 3- people kayaks. Double and triple kayaks are great for families with kids. We always take doubles and we love them. Children ages 5 to 12 must be in a kayak with an adult. You need to reserve your kayaks in advance.
You can also rent stand-up paddle boards and hydrobikes in Moss Landing. SUPs are available at Monterey Bay Kayaks and hydrobikes are available from a different company, Monterey Bay Hydrobikes. Please, note that hydrobikes rentals are twice as expensive as kayaks rentals. We never tried a hydrobike so we can’t vouch for it – have you? If so, let us know in the comments below what you think of the expereince.
ELKHORN SLOUGH TOURS (KAYAKING AND OTHER)
There are guided Elkhorn Slough tours available at Moss Landing. We decided on a guided tour for kayaking Elkhorn Slough with Monterey Bay Kayaks and I think it was a mistake for our family. If you are new to kayaking definitely take a tour because it starts with a good prep talk on how to get into the kayak, how to paddle, etc. If you have kayaked before, it will be a waste of time and money for several reasons.
First of all, if you take a group Elkhorn Slough tour, you will have to wait for everybody to arrive. Check my note above about the parking situation – even if you did everything as I suggested and arrived early, there will be someone on your Elkhorn Slough tour who did not read my article, who won’t be able to find parking or won’t have cash to pay for parking, and so on. We waited 30 min (!) extra for our tour to start.
Second of all, the narration about the Elkhorn Slough and its inhabitants by the tour guide was not too informative. You may as well read this information on Elkhorn Slough’s website before departure.
Finally, you pay more for a guided kayaking tour of Elkhorn Slough than for just renting kayaks so if you are not newbies at kayaking then I don’t see any added value in a tour.
The only guided Elkhorn Slough tour that I would suggest considering is a boat tour, in case for whatever reason you are not comfortable getting on the water in small water crafts such as kayaks, SUPs, etc. or if you have kids under 5 years old. There are several companies in Moss Landing that offer boat tours of Elkhorn Slough.
ELKHORN SLOUGH WIDLIFE
Kayaking Elkhorn Slough is so popular because of the wildlife. Sea otters are the main attraction in the slough and we were told by our tour guide that about 125 adult animals make Elkhorn Slough their home. That said, we only saw about half a dozen, which goes back to my comment about the crowds: we started our tour later than we wanted, about 11.30 am. Sea otters have babies between the months of March and May so that’s your best window of opportunity to see these cuties.
Other animals that are easy to spot in Elkhorn Slough are harbor seals. We saw many of them: some in the water and some on the beach.
The Elkhorn Slough’s website says that you can see sea lions in the area as well but we didn’t notice any.
There are also tons of different birds in and around Elkhorn Slough because this area is a critical wintering and stopover site for shorebirds along the Pacific Flyway. During fall migration there can be in the vicinity of 30,000 birds here! But you can see the birds at Elkhorn Slough not just during fall migration: Audubon Society estimates that one can see at least 100 birds in the area on ANY given day. So Elkhorn Slough is indeed a perfect location for bird watching.
Please, always be respectful of the wildlife, do not chase them or approach closer than 5 kayak lengths.
WEATHER AT ELKHORN SLOUGH
Before going kayaking Elkhorn Slough get to know the local weather patterns. Winter season in Elkhorn Slough is likely to be rainy and summers tend to be foggy and cold. So your best months for kayaking Elkhorn Slough would be April, May, September, October and potentially November if it doesn’t rain.
ARE DRONES ALLOWED AT ELKHORN SLOUGH?
It is not allowed to fly drones over Elkhorn Slough because they disturb the wildlife. So since drones are not allowed I took my trusted phone with me and you can see a video of our fun adventure below (you will be able to hear how sea otters talk!):
WHERE TO HAVE LUNCH AFTER KAYAKING ELKHORN SLOUGH
After kayaking Elkhorn Slough it is easy to have food right there at the Moss Landing marina without driving anywhere. We went for lunch at Sea Harvest. It is a cute inexpensive restaurant overlooking the marina and the Slough. There is sitting inside and outside on the deck and if you are lucky you may see some marine life right from the restaurant’s deck.
All Sea Harvest seafood dishes that we tried were delicious (tacos, fish and chips). Another great thing about Sea Harvest is that their service is very fast. You order at the counter and then your food is ready within 5 minutes or so.
WHAT TO TAKE WITH YOU
Beyond the obvious things that you would take to any outdoor activity in California (sun hat, sunscreen, water), I strongly suggest the following items specifically for kayaking Elkhorn Slough:
- waterproof jacket with wrist seals designed for paddling (seals prevent water from the paddle going into your sleeves)
- waterproof bag for your belongings that you cannot leave in your car, such as car keys, wallet, etc.
- waterproof pouch for you cell phone (the dry bag that I recommend below already has the phone pouch as an add on)
- water shoes for getting into the kayak because the landing area in Moss Landing is very muddy, so you will ruin any other shoes that are not water shoes.
- binoculars (since you can’t approach the wildlife too close, binoculars are a must have)
Here are my favorite items:
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It is a well explained of a article and quite intresting to read too but do we have to consider all these things before kayaking?
Fair question! I see my job in providing information but it is up to each individual to decide what they need to consider for each specific trip. Some may worry about parking, others about weather, and others about lunch 🙂