San Francisco Marina

I tried launching at the San Francisco Marina today and it was easy. I went to the harbor master office on the Marina Green (white building halfway between the two marinas) at 8:30, knocked on the door and they let me in. They asked for my name and phone number and gave me a key to the marina. I dropped it in their mail slot when I returned.  The door to enter the dock is the furthest east (closest to  harbor master building). Parking was easy and free. I tried the handicapped ramp for fun and it worked well to roll into the water. See the picture. There's a restroom open to the public at the building to the west as well as a shower that the marina key opens. This is the closest dock launching location to access Crissy Field, although Crissy Field beach is usually not too bad to launch from. The harbor master will let you check out a key the day before if you want to launch before 8:30 and you can even keep it several days if you let them know. Call them at 415  831-6322 to discuss.

The other marina to the east (Gashouse Cove) has a good launching dock that doesn't not require a key (near the old boat hoist and fuel dock). It has a sign that says "Police Boats Only". I asked the harbor master about this and was told that it was fine to launch there because the police never use it. You have to deal with stairs there, however, and they are fairly steep. There is also a public restroom near that marina. This marina also has a kayak storage rack for $30 a month. There's currently a 3-month waiting list.
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I tried launching at the San Francisco Marina today and it was easy. I went to the harbor master office on the Marina Green (white building halfway between the two marinas) at 8:30, knocked on the door and they let me in. They asked for my name and phone number and gave me a key to the marina. I dropped it in their mail slot when I returned.  The door to enter the dock is the furthest east (closest to  harbor master building). Parking was easy and free. I tried the handicapped ramp for fun and it worked well to roll into the water. See the picture. There's a restroom open to the public at the building to the west as well as a shower that the marina key opens. This is the closest dock launching location to access Crissy Field, although Crissy Field beach is usually not too bad to launch from. The harbor master will let you check out a key the day before if you want to launch before 8:30 and you can even keep it several days if you let them know. Call them at 415  831-6322 to discuss.

The other marina to the east (Gashouse Cove) has a good launching dock that doesn't not require a key (near the old boat hoist and fuel dock). It has a sign that says "Police Boats Only". I asked the harbor master about this and was told that it was fine to launch there because the police never use it. You have to deal with stairs there, however, and they are fairly steep. There is also a public restroom near that marina. This marina also has a kayak storage rack for $30 a month. There's currently a 3-month waiting list.
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Great post!  Good info.  Thanks for sharing.

The "Police Boats Only" is more about tying up and staying there for extended time, not launching a kayak.  The USCG and various local agencies fuel there and then tie up to go up and get lunch or groceries from Safeway or the Farmers Market.