Boating and Water Access in San Leandro, CA
This page states the current reality plainly: San Leandro's public marina, historically the city's primary boat-access point, has been permanently closed since January 2023, and its planned replacement is currently stalled in bankruptcy. This page covers what water access actually exists in San Leandro right now, rather than describing a marina that no longer operates.
The Marina: Closed, Not Operating
The San Leandro Marina operated for generations on San Leandro Bay with roughly 462 berths, two yacht clubs, and a roughly two-mile entrance channel to open water. The city permanently closed and decommissioned it in January 2023 after concluding it could not afford the estimated $2 million cost of dredging the shoaling entrance channel, with no federal dredging funds available. The docks were removed, and the basin has been left to fill naturally with sediment since. This is not a seasonal or temporary closure -- covered in full on the hub and Waterway Living pages, it is a permanent decommissioning with a stalled, bankruptcy-delayed redevelopment plan and no confirmed reopening date.
The Wes McClure Boat Launch: Still Available
The Wes McClure Boat Launch, part of the broader San Leandro Shoreline Recreation Area, appears to remain operational as a public trailer-launch ramp separate from the closed marina basin, per available city and boating-directory sourcing, with the shoreline recreation area generally open daily from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. This is a real, current option for a boater with a trailered vessel who doesn't need slip storage -- confirm current hours, any launch fees, and operational status directly with San Leandro Recreation and Parks before planning a trip, since the broader shoreline redevelopment situation remains fluid.
The Bay Trail: Real Access for Non-Motorized Recreation
A seven-mile paved and gravel segment of the San Francisco Bay Trail runs along San Leandro's shoreline toward the Hayward Regional Shoreline Interpretive Center, offering genuine walking, running, and cycling access along the water even without a boat. This is a real, unaffected amenity independent of the marina's closure -- the Bay Trail segment doesn't require the marina to function and remains a legitimate way to experience San Leandro Bay's shoreline directly.
Where San Leandro Boaters Actually Go Right Now
For slip or berth storage, a San Leandro-based boater currently needs to look outside the city itself, since this research found no functioning alternative marina within San Leandro's own boundaries while the local marina remains closed. Nearby Alameda County and East Bay marinas -- covered on this site's other regional market pages -- represent the practical current alternative for anyone who specifically wants slip storage rather than trailer launching. This is a real, honest limitation of choosing San Leandro specifically for its water access right now, and a prospective boat owner should factor that into a decision rather than assume local marina access will be available on any particular timeline.
Windsurfing and the Channel View
Even without slip access, the entrance channel that formerly led into the marina basin has historically drawn windsurfers to the area, and the nearby T-shaped public fishing pier -- covered in full on the Fishing Guide page -- was specifically noted in pier-fishing reference sourcing as a good vantage point for watching windsurfers and boat traffic in the channel. That's a real, if secondary, form of water-adjacent recreation that doesn't depend on the closed marina basin itself and may still be viable depending on current channel conditions -- confirm current windsurfing conditions and any local advisories directly with San Leandro Recreation and Parks.
Kayaking and Small Craft: Genuinely Feasible, With Real Caveats
San Leandro Bay's shallow, tidal, generally calm water can be feasible for kayaking and small non-motorized craft launched from the Wes McClure ramp or nearby shoreline access points, similar to how paddlers use the Oakland-side Arrowhead Marsh and Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline areas of the same bay. This page did not find confirmed, San Leandro-specific kayak rental or launch-fee information, and recommends confirming current access rules directly with San Leandro Recreation and Parks before planning a paddling trip, particularly given the bay's real tidal current and the shoreline redevelopment's ongoing construction activity in parts of the area.
What a Future Marina Might Look Like, If the Redevelopment Resolves
The planned Monarch Bay Shoreline Development Project's publicly reported scope includes a 9-acre waterfront park and a revamped nine-hole golf course, but this page did not find confirmed, specific details on whether the completed project would include a rebuilt marina with boat berths, a smaller-scale replacement, or purely non-boating shoreline park space. Given the project's Chapter 11 bankruptcy status since October 2024 and no confirmed completion timeline, this page will not speculate on future boat-slip availability beyond what has been publicly confirmed. A prospective San Leandro boater with a longer time horizon should treat any future marina as a genuine possibility worth monitoring, not a near-term certainty to plan around.
What This Page Does Not Know
This page does not have confirmed, current-date-verified operational status for the Wes McClure Boat Launch, confirmed launch or use fees, or a confirmed timeline for any future marina redevelopment that might restore slip access within San Leandro itself. Confirm all current water-access details directly with San Leandro Recreation and Parks before planning a boating trip or making a purchase decision based on assumed water access.
Ready to talk to a local San Leandro / Marina agent?
Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from: CBS News San Francisco (August 2024) and San Leandro Patch for the marina's closure and current status, also cited on the hub and Waterway Living pages; the City of San Leandro's own amenities materials (sanleandro.org) and boating-directory sourcing (boatlaunchmap.com) for the Wes McClure Boat Launch and San Leandro Shoreline Recreation Area hours; and San Francisco Bay Trail program materials for the seven-mile paved Bay Trail segment to the Hayward Regional Shoreline Interpretive Center. Facts not independently confirmed and not invented here include: current-date-verified Wes McClure Boat Launch operational status and fees; confirmed kayak rental or launch-fee information; and a confirmed timeline for restored marina/slip access within San Leandro. Confirm current water access directly with San Leandro Recreation and Parks. Nothing on this page is safety or navigation advice.