Berkeley Launch

Can anyone tell me the place to launch when at Berkeley Marina?
1) Can you launch inside the marina?
2)Can you launch from the dock at the sailboat rental area?
3) Does anybody launch from the mucky area near the coffee shop on frontage rd?
4)Any places to launch from the inside cove,hotel side?/ blub?

Hey Davey,

There are other places to launch in the near vicinity.  You can go behind the racetrack parking lots and launch there.  There is the north parking lot where entrance is regulated depending if there is an event going on or, you can launch from the south parking lot where parking is free.  Also the cove behind the Hotel is also a great lauch area and puts you right smack into the striper cove (behind Cezar Chavez Park).  I just got a Kayak this year and am looking forward to working these areas soon.  The north parking lot is an awesome area to fish, especially for striped bass, halibut and the occasional sturgeon.   I'm a Berkeley resident and have float tubed the are regularly (before I got my kayak).  Good luck!

Are there ramps at those places or is it rocky? What about the places I mentioned? Have you launched from the small launch directly across the street from the Marina Bait shop? Almost time for halibut there.

The south parking lot (where all the horse trailers are located) is just a small rocky outcropping a few steps from the parking lot.  They're trying to rehabilitate a portion of the south park lot and dumped a lot of sand there last year so now there is a small beach area.  The north parking lot ajacent to the Albany Bulb is also a beach area, just a few steps from the parking lot as well. 

There cove south of University Ave, where the UC Sailing club is located, has a launch for sailboarders.  They did not say anything to my cousin and I when we launched kayaks there a few years ago...but I don't know about now.

Thanks, being that I drive quite aways to berkeley now I usually get to berkeley around 4:00am and cruze around town remembering that good times. Launching from the Sailing area is just arounf the corner from the flats and the broken section of the pier. I have been wanting to drop jig that section and tangle with some rubberlips once again. I have never seen a kayaker fish the pilings,ever.