Newport Bay - One of the Best Kayaking Spots in Newport Beach, CA

Besides Huntington Harbor, another one of our favorite spots to go kayaking in Southern California is Newport Bay in Newport Beach. It is because there are also two drastically different routes that you can take. The first route is to kayak through the serene nature preserve where you can see different types of birds and marine life such as stingrays. The other route is to head toward the busy harbors and make a loop around Balboa Island. So, we could choose which routes to do depending on how we feel that day or who we’re taking with us. Since motorized vessels are not allowed here, the nature preserve route is perfect for beginner kayakers. If you are more comfortable on your kayak, the Balboa Island Route is really fun because you get through small channels and under bridges. However, you will have to watch out for boats and the Balboa Ferry.

Stats

To Launch Your Kayak

North Star Beach
1 Whitecliffs Dr, Newport Beach, CA 92660
33.624446, -117.893508

To Rent Your Kayak

Newport Aquatic Center
1 Whitecliffs Dr, Newport Beach, CA 92660
Website: www.newportaquaticcenter.com

Parking

Big, dirt parking lot

Restroom

There are restrooms around the side of the building for Newport Aquatic Center.

Fee

Free to launch, if you want to rent, please check with the company that you prefer to rent with.

Distance

Nature Preserve Route
4.1 miles R.T. to the end of the trail

Balboa Island Route
5.7 miles

Level

Beginner to moderate

Time:

2-3 hours

Pet-friendly

You can bring your pups but for their safety and yours, please put a life jacket on them.

Ideal Time

This place can get busy on a weekend or holiday. Go early or go on a weekday if you want to get closer parking for easier transportation of your kayaks. We also recommend going earlier in the morning. The wind tends to pick up toward the afternoon.

Weather

Video

Where Can I Launch or Rent My Kayak?

If you have your own kayak, you can launch out of North Star Beach for free. This beach is in front of and right next to Newport Aquatic Center. In fact, to map your way here, you should use the address for the Newport Aquatic Center. Immediately after you pass the sign that says “North Star Beach,” there is a big sandy lot. This is where we usually park. If you’re facing the beach, don’t go too far toward the right. The sand on that side can be very soft and you might get stuck. Once parked, you can carry your kayak down to the beach. It is a short walk depending on where you park, but the way down to the beach can be steep with thick sand.

For renting a kayak, you can go to the Newport Aquatic Center. It is sharing the same North Star Beach. This makes it perfect if you have a split group of friends with some having their own kayaks and some don’t. Newport Aquatic Center usually has a kiosk outside for rentals. All their rentals are first-come first-served so if you’re going on a weekend or a holiday, make sure to get there early.

What Should I Bring?

You won’t need much to have a fun and safe kayaking adventure at Newport Bay. We listed some of our favorite gear below though, just in case.

Dry bags – whether you’re renting or bringing your own kayaks, we recommend bringing dry bags. They help keep your belongings dry
Waterproof phone pouch with lanyard- to keep your phone dry. This way, you can keep your phone out to take photos and checking on your map, to make sure that you find your way back.
Hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen – it’s mostly sunny out there. These items will keep you safe from the sun and protect your eyes against glare from the water. For sunscreens, we use eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen, Stream2Sea SPF 30. and tinted, organic All Good Organic Sunscreen Butter.
Swimsuits or easy-to-dry clothing – You will get somewhat wet, especially the lower half, from getting on and off of the kayak and from water splashing.
A light jacket – It can be brisk on the water. We love the packable Patagonia Women’s Houdini® Jacket and Patagonia Men’s Houdini® Jacket
Towel and change of clothes – for changing after the adventure
Life jacket – it is required to have one on board per person. If you’re under 18, you’ll need to wear it. If you rent, they should provide you with one.
Water and snacks – to keep you hydrating and keep your energy up for that paddle back.
Waterproof Speaker (optional) – we like a good kayak tune so we usually brought our little waterproof speaker.
Watershoes (Optional) – to get on the boat easier.

The Adventure

The Nature Preserve Route

The Nature Preserve route of Newport Bay is usually where we introduce beginners to kayaking. Once you launch out of North Star Beach, it is on the left side. This route is straightforward. There aren’t any twists or turns, as long as you stay on the main channel. Most of the time, it is a wide open space. Depending on the water level, the landscape here can change quite a bit. If the water level is low, the channels can get a lot narrower and more shallow. So, if you don’t want to get stuck, stay in the middle of the more prominent channel.

Along the shorelines, there are different kinds of birds, making this area their home. We saw some baby seagulls on one of our trips. They are adorable! If you’re in the shallow part of the nature preserve, keep an eye out for the stingrays. Since the water is murky and they are very fast, if you don’t pay attention, you could miss them. We saw them on every single one of our adventures so they are there. Because this is a nature preserve, you are not allowed to get off the boat for swimming, diving, or wading. This is to protect all the marine life here. On this route for kayaking at Newport Bay, you could go as far as you like, however, the end of this route is about 2 miles. There are signs indicating that the rest of the channel is closed. We used to be able to go further way back then but not anymore. Also, we notice that every time we go, the wind tends to pick up in the afternoon. So if you’re heading back around that time, you might get a strong headwind.

The Start

The Balboa Island Route is our preferred route when kayaking at Newport Bay. One of the reasons is that the wind usually blows from the ocean, so if we head out on this route in the morning, we usually luck out with a tailwind on the way back. However, the main reason is that the Balboa Island Route has more interesting turns, things to look at and we could modify it to as long or as short as we prefer.

To head toward Balboa Island, you’ll want to go right after launching your kayak at North Star Beach. It is a big channel, curving along harbors, small islands, and a long stretch of desolate beach. Please keep in mind that as soon as you leave North Star Beach, you will encounter boats, some days more than others. Although they are required to go at idling speed, these boats are still a lot bigger and faster than you so make sure to get out of the way. Some of them don’t know what they’re doing either.

To Balboa Island

Eventually, you’ll reach the Pacific Coast Highway Bridge. At this point, we usually go left under the bridge. Once past the bridge, we immediately turn left into a small side channel. We like narrower channels when kayaking on this part of Newport Bay because the water is a lot calmer. At this point, our kayaking journey takes us through all the beautiful boats and yachts lining the channel. Once we curved around the channel, we came to a beautiful smaller bridge. After the bridge, the channel continues until it reaches an intersection. We turned left here to go under the third bridge. After this third bridge, there are a couple of beaches on the right and left of the channel. They are perfect for a quick stop to eat some snacks, stretch your legs, or hang out for a bit.

Around Balboa Island

After taking a break, we follow the channel straight (left) to start our loop around Balboa Island. This channel is wider than the last few that we were in. So, there is more boat traffic here. There are also more beautiful homes and boats to look at. Along the way, more public beaches dotted along the shoreline, just in case you want to make a stop. After going under the third bridge, you’ll come upon a side channel to the right. It usually closes for boats but you can go through on a kayak or paddleboard. This is a shortcut to other side of Balboa Island, if you don’t feel like paddling as much. If you’re still ambitious, keep going straight until the channel curves around and eventually leads to the other side of the island. We went both ways before. I like the shortcut because it was prettier but it’s up to you.

The Otherside of Balboa Island

Once we got to the other side of Balboa Island, we traced along the shoreline. We recommend staying close to the shore. This side of Balboa Island is very wide open. This means it gets a lot windier and choppier. There are also a lot of boats going back and forth. Staying close to shore will keep you safer. After curving around the corner, you’ll see the dock for the Balboa Island Ferry not too far away. The Balboa Island Ferry crosses from the other side to Balboa Island. So it will be crossing in front of you. Make sure to time your crossing so you won’t get run over. If you’re crossing behind the ferry, give it plenty of space. Because the ferry is always running, you might get stuck in the water being churned up by the propellers.

After crossing over the ferry safely, the route curves around and comes to an intersection. If you go right, you’ll get back to the beach where we stop to take a break. From here, you can trace your way back. We usually go straight to curve around a small island then keep curving until we see the Pacific Highway Bridge. From here, we traced our way back to the North Star Beach.

Just based on the options alone, you could see why Newport Back Bay is our favorite place to go kayaking. What about you? What route is your favorite? If you like something similar to the Balboa Island Route, check out Huntington Harbor. If you like a combination of the two routes, check out Mission Bay. They are both super cook kayak spots.

These are the gear that we personally use and find them helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.