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We launched from Estuary park (bottom right of the above map) at about 11:30AM. From there, we headed towards Jack London Square, in the direction of San Francisco. The put-in at Estuary park was easy, with parking lots right by the water.

Dock near Jack London Square

Not far from Estuary park is Jack London Square. We stopped at this little dock to eat our lunches and use the bathroom. There are restaurants and a Barnes & Noble here. If you forgot something important, there is a kayak store nearby (California Canoe & Kayak) near the Franklin and Water Street intersection.

San Francisco

From Oakland Estuary you can see the San Francisco skyline, although it’s not really close enough to be very spectacular. There’s the Bay Bridge, and you can barely make out the Transamerica Pyramid.

Matson container ship with tiny kayakers

Another thing you’ll see at Oakland Estuary is massive container ships. These are not the biggest I’ve seen, but still huge. There are some other kayakers in the above picture for scale, if you can find them (under the smokestack, and a bit to the right). I’ve heard that the Star Wars AT-AT walker was inspired by shipping cranes like these.

Houseboats at Oakland Estuary

On the way back, there were some houseboats. I always try to respect people’s privacy and avoid getting too close to houseboats. I think it would be like going for a walk through your neighborhood, but instead of staying on the sidewalk, cutting across people’s front yards and looking in their windows as you pass by.

We landed back at Estuary Park in the late afternoon. It was a little windy by then and the waves were getting choppy. Nice urban paddle, especially if you live nearby, but not much wildlife.

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