Launching at the SC harbor.

I went down to the wharf today to catch some bait for an hour or so before work. I noticed that access to the public landing is boarded off. That leaves my two possible launch sites as Mitchell Cove (stairs) and the harbor. I would like to avoid Mitchell as much as possible because the last thing I want to do when tired after paddling around is haul my kayak up stairs.

As far as I can tell from threads here there are two launch sites at the wharf, one on west and one on the east. I have seen conflicting posts (separated by a significant amount of time) about whether or not the one on the west side is free. Is that the case? Is parking on Atlantic on that side of the harbor still free? The harbor website it less than helpful.

Here are the two public kayak launch pads.  You do need to pay the launching fee $13 at one of the kiosk

Not 100% sure as it's been a while, but last time I was down there all the free parking on Atlantic (close to the old Aldo's) was gone due to the Aldo's demo and stuff.

Here are the two public kayak launch pads.  You do need to pay the launching fee $13 at one of the kiosk

Thanks, same kiosk used to pay for parking I assume? I will drive by Atlantic today to check the parking situation. I'll post what I find.

You do need to pay the launching fee $13 at one of the kiosk

It's been a while since I launched from the "A" or "F" dock, but I thought the $13 fee was for launch and parking. If you park on the street, it is and/or used to be cheaper (like $6 or $7, as I recall).

Not that I recommend it, but it has been known to happen that a person parks on the street, launches a kayak at the "A" dock and "forgets" to pay.

The parking launch combo at "A" or "F" dock is $13. Unfortunately not free, but happy to contribute to help keep the harbor dredged and docks in good condition. Same kiosk as regular parking though the one closest to the F dock was out of service last week so I paid down near Aldo's.

Here it is:

https://www.santacruzharbor.org/boater-services/

It says, "Please note that if you do not require parking for a vehicle, you may purchase a hand launch pass for $6.00 from the harbor office or a harbor attendant present in launching areas."

So, you can just pay $6 to launch if you don't park in the lot. If you arrive early, it's easy to find free parking nearby.

   I "forgot" to pay for launch after parking on Atlantic early last year.  As soon as I got my kayak back up to the car, the parking attendant was on it. Probably watching with binocs from the office.   A $58 reminded to remember.   
     I wrote the Coastal Commission SC office complaining that the then yearly increasing parking fees were in effect discouraging public access.  It replied that they don't normally concern themselves with parking fees, but they had checked and there was a $6 launch only option.   But the pay kiosk says nothing about it,  and I haven't taken the effort to drive to the harbor office side a 6 am to see if I could find someone to buy a launch pass from.  I still think my point was valid, but while I care, I don't care that much;  it's a lot easier to load and unload in the lot, and I content myself with the belief that the harbor bears some liability if my car gets whacked when I've pay to park in their lot, though it might be another not-worth-it run-around collecting.
     Is there always an attendant on the office (East) side early in the a.m., or would I need to try to buy a $6 pass from the office the night before?

   I "forgot" to pay for launch after parking on Atlantic early last year.  As soon as I got my kayak back up to the car, the parking attendant was on it. Probably watching with binocs from the office.   A $58 reminded to remember.   
     I wrote the Coastal Commission SC office complaining that the then yearly increasing parking fees were in effect discouraging public access.  It replied that they don't normally concern themselves with parking fees, but they had checked and there was a $6 launch only option.   But the pay kiosk says nothing about it,  and I haven't taken the effort to drive to the harbor office side a 6 am to see if I could find someone to buy a launch pass from.  I still think my point was valid, but while I care, I don't care that much;  it's a lot easier to load and unload in the lot, and I content myself with the belief that the harbor bears some liability if my car gets whacked when I've pay to park in their lot, though it might be another not-worth-it run-around collecting.
     Is there always an attendant on the office (East) side early in the a.m., or would I need to try to buy a $6 pass from the office the night before?

This was a lot easier before they put in the self-pay kiosks, as you could just pay the attendant when you landed. Good luck finding anybody to pay early. It seems that paying $6 may not be a realistic option after all...