Mission Bay Water Sports & Boat Rentals

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Location: Mission Bay (7 miles / 8 minutes North of Downtown San Diego)

Features: Water Skiing, Wake Boarding, Sailing, Catamaran Sailing, Wind Surfing, Jet-Skiing, Power Boating, Pedal Boats, Kayaks

Water Skiing on Mission BayMission Bay Boating Highlights: Mission Bay is a 4,235 acre (6.6 square mile) aquatic park. It was built from the 1940s – 1960s to attract tourists to San Diego and consists of 27 miles of shoreline and offers a variety of boating and water sport activities. (View the Mission Bay Boating Map at the bottom of the page.)

Water Sports and Boat Rental Vendors

The following is a list of vendors providing rentals, tours, and other services for visitors to enjoy their day on Mission Bay. Do not consider this an all-inclusive list but it will help you get started on finding the activities of interest to you.

Kayaking on Mission BayMission Bay Sports Center – This is the largest water sports center in San Diego. Located on the western side of Mission Bay, it offers lessons and rentals from 9AM – 7PM daily. You can rent waverunners, sailboats, powerboats, catamarans, kayaks, sailboards for windsurfing, and pedal boats. Rentals start as low as $13+ per hour for kayaks, with discounts for half-day and full-day rentals and range up to $175+ per hour for for powerboats. Even sailboats can be rented for as low as $18+ per hour.

Youth Camps – Send your child to San Diego for a summer beach vacation they’ll never forget. The Mission Bay Sports Center offers week-long classes for kids as young as 4 years old. Half and full day class options include an introduction to water sports, sailing, catamaran sailing, water skiing, wakeboarding, surfing, and windsurfing.

Seaforth Boat Tours and Rentals – Beginner and experienced wakeboarders can enjoy the day on Mission Bay with Seaforth. They also offer private sailing tours at sunset and rent boats, jet-skis, kayaks, canoes, and paddleboats.

Boats in Mission BayMission Bay Aquatic Center – The Mission Bay Aquatic Center is owned by student groups at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego. As a result, students of those schools get discounts for classes and rentals. The Center focuses on instruction programs in sailing, kayaking, wakeboarding, surfing, water skiing, wind surfing, and rowing. Some programs take place over multiple days, while others can be completed in one session. Rentals are available to those who complete at least 2 hours of instruction. The Aquatic Center also offers evening kayak tours to enjoy the moonlight on Mission Bay.

Adventure Water Sports – Learn how to wakeboard or water ski on Mission Bay. Adventure Water Sports has three locations in Mission Bay and rents boats, wave runners, kayaks, pedal boats, and bikes.

OEX Dive & Kayak Centers – Kayak and Dive Boat rentals.

Hike Bike Kayak – Kayak, Surfboard, Boogie board, and Snorkel rentals. Kayak tours offered with advanced reservations.

Cheap Rentals – Surf Boards, Wake Boards, Snorkel equipment, Kayaks, Bikes, Rollerblades, Skateboards, Beach Chair, and Umbrella Rentals. Cheap Rentals also provides basic lesson information on surf boarding for Free. You can reserve equipment in advance to ensure availability during your visit to the beach.

Boat Map of Mission Bay (Click on the Map for a Larger, Printable View)

Mission Bay Boating Map from the City of San Diego

Mission Bay Boating Map from the City of San Diego

Mission Bay Boating Map – This color map of Mission Bay Park shown above includes details on boat ramps, water depths, and the areas where different water crafts are allowed. For a more detailed map of on-shore facilities and beach activities, visit our web site’s page on Mission Bay Park Beach Activities.

Beach Weather – Visitors can enjoy the beaches in San Diego year-round. However, finding ideal beach weather during the winter and spring is hit or miss. The best beach weather occurs from July to October. Ocean water temperatures are usually around 70 degrees during the summer and 60 degrees during the winter. Learn more about San Diego weather.

Food – Most food options for Mission Bay are on the west side near Belmont Park. There are only a couple of restaurants offering full menus with the others offering bar food type options. You will find a small handful of bars and laid-back restaurants along Mission Boulevard as well as a few resort restaurants along Ingraham Street and West Mission Bay Drive. Pacific Beach to the north offers many more dining options.

Information on Visiting Mission Bay

Directions to 2688 East Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, CA 92109. (This is the address for the Visitors Center just off of highway I-5, on the east side of Mission Bay.)

Parking – Parking is free throughout Mission Bay. This includes public parking lots and street parking.

Traffic – Traffic entering Mission Bay is very busy on summer weekends. There are frequently long delays on holiday weekends. Traffic does back up at the Sea World Drive exit off of highway I-5 and continues to get heavier as you drive towards the west side of Mission Bay.

Other than summer weekends, travelers will only encounter heavy traffic during weekday evening rush hour heading south on highway I-5 to Mission Bay or heading east on highway I-8, leaving Mission Bay. (Learn how to get the latest traffic updates.)

Transit – Buses serve Mission Bay. (See San Diego Transit Information for bus schedules and information for the online Transit Planner.)

Related AttractionsAdditional kayaking options are available in La Jolla Shores, which is the most popular area in San Diego for kayaking.

Find More Attractions with Similar Themes or Location: Fun Rentals, Mission Bay, Mission Bay Boating, Ocean & Bay Adventures |

One Response to “Mission Bay Water Sports & Boat Rentals”

  1. The Watersports Camp is an exciting day-camp held at the Mission Bay Aquatic Center during spring and summer months. Youth age 6-17 paticipate in a variety of full-day and half-day camps including wakeboarding, surfing, sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, and marine science. The camp is sponsored by the Peninsual Family YMCA and all counselors are cpr, first aid, and waterfront lifeguard certified.

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