Where Napa Street meets Bridgeway, Dunphy Park now runs to the water along its full length. Its southern half, the last unfinished piece of a plan first drafted in the 1970s, was completed in September. Just past the shoreline, a volunteer-run dock at Cass Gidley Marina takes kayaks, paddleboards and dinghies for free, from sunrise to sunset, every day of the year. You don't need a membership.
Sausalito's waterfront is mostly marinas, and most of it was not built for someone carrying a kayak down from the car. This one stretch of Bridgeway now has a finished public park and a free public dock side by side. The city has picked a design to bring the same kind of small-boat and swimmer access to downtown at Turney Street. Construction there is scheduled for 2028, so for this winter, Napa Street is the easiest free way onto the water.
Fifty years to finish one park
Dunphy Park took a long time to come together. The City of Sausalito's project history traces it from planning and outreach in the 1970s, led by the Friends of Dunphy Park, to the 2003 purchase of neighboring parcels, paid for mainly with a State Coastal Conservancy grant. In 2015 the Friends wrote a master plan with local professionals. Cleaning up the site and fitting the work into the budget pushed the city to build in two phases.
Phase 1, finished before 2021, restored the northern half. As the Marin Independent Journal reported, it added parking, restrooms nearby, volleyball and bocce courts, a shoreline walking path and open lawn. Phase 2 covered the southern side. Its scope included shoreline stabilization, grading, accessible walking paths, native and adaptive landscaping with irrigation, benches and picnic tables. The shoreline work was also meant to create habitat for wildlife and native plants. The Independent Journal put the construction contract at $1.4 million and the whole project at about $1.7 million with other costs included. The city announced the finished park on September 18, 2026.
The new southern half is a place to sit and walk by the water, and the way onto the water is the dock right beside it.
The dock that asks nothing of you
The Sausalito Community Boating Center at Cass Gidley Marina, at the foot of Napa Street, held its grand opening on April 27, 2025. The center's own site describes a free public dock on Richardson Bay, run by volunteers and open to everyone. It takes kayaks, SUPs and dinghies from sunrise to sunset, 365 days a year, and you don't need to join. The first adult sailing classes have finished, and the center says more community sailing programs are coming, with scholarships to keep them open to everyone.
So the free dock and the finished park are the same trip. You can paddle out from the dock, then come back to a bench or picnic table on the new southern lawn or the walking path on the north side, with restrooms close by. That pairing is new as of this fall.
Here is how the Napa Street dock compares with Sausalito's other regular ways onto the water heading into winter.
| Put-in | Where | What it offers | Cost or access | Late fall and winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sausalito Community Boating Center | Cass Gidley Marina, foot of Napa Street | Public dock for kayaks, SUPs, dinghies | Free, no membership | Sunrise to sunset, 365 days |
| Sea Trek | Bay Model, 2100 Bridgeway | Kayak, SUP and surfski rentals with gear | Paid rental | Starting Nov. 1: Tue–Sun, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; closed Mondays |
| Open Water Rowing Center | 85 Libertyship Way #102, Schoonmaker Point Marina | Learn-to-row courses and clinics | Paid programs | Weekday and weekend hours; weekends start at 7 a.m. |
| Community swims | Horseshoe Bay | Informal open-water swims | Free | Usually mornings; times shift with tides, daylight and weather |
| Turney Street ramp | Foot of Turney Street | Small public dock and ramp | Public | Open now; steep and tide-dependent; rebuild planned for 2028 |
When you need the boat as well as the water
The free dock helps if you already own a kayak or board. Without one, the nearest choice is Sea Trek at the Bay Model, up Bridgeway at number 2100. Rentals include a kayak, surfski or stand-up paddleboard, plus a paddle and life jacket. Splash jackets and neoprene layers are also available, which matters more as the water gets colder. Sea Trek rents all year, and walk-ins are welcome.
Sea Trek's schedule changes soon. Its fall hours run 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, through October 31. From November 1 through March 31 it is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed Mondays. That makes Monday, October 26, the last Monday rental until spring, and Saturday, October 31, the last day you can stay out until 5. On a Monday this winter, a renter has no option, while someone with their own board can still use the Napa Street dock.
Further along the shoreline at Schoonmaker Point Marina, the Open Water Rowing Center runs learn-to-row courses and clinics from its base at 85 Libertyship Way. Its posted weekend hours start at 7 a.m. For swimmers, Pacific Open Water Swim Co. lists free, informal community swims at Horseshoe Bay in Sausalito. They usually happen in the morning, with times that depend on tides, daylight, weather and the group's schedule, and the company asks new swimmers to contact the organizer first.
Turney Street is next, on a slower clock
Downtown has its own public ramp at the foot of Turney Street. It has been there for decades and gets little use. The Independent Journal reported in December that the ramp's steep slope and dependence on the tide kept people away. The same story reported that a $170,439 grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife would pay for part of a $274,252 planning and design contract.
On September 15 the City Council voted unanimously for a design. According to the Independent Journal, the plan extends and replaces the ramp, replaces the worn bulkhead, and adds docks for up to 16 small, shallow boats in front of the Joinery restaurant, where old piers and pontoons sit today. A new 80-foot gangway would run along the concrete ramp to those docks. A second gangway behind Salito's would lead to docks for about a dozen small dinghies, and the site would add access for kayaks, paddleboards and swimmers.
Mayor Steven Woodside told the Independent Journal that the floating dock running south "would be available for people to bring their kayaks or small craft down there." Vice Mayor Melissa Blaustein said she has "a personal interest in being able to swim up to the boat launch safely."
The ramp won't serve sailboats with deep keels. That part of Richardson Bay is shallow, and dredging it would require federal permits. Early estimates put the council's chosen design at about $3.1 million. The city's schedule, as reported:
- 2026: engineering
- 2027: secure funding and get state and federal permits
- 2028: construction
Once it is built, downtown will have its own small-craft and swimmer access like the north end has now. Until then, the Turney ramp stays open but steep and tied to the tide, and the Napa Street dock is the easier free launch this winter.
A Sunday on Napa Street
The Sausalito Farmers Market runs every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Dunphy Park parking lot at 1600 Bridgeway, with the Sausalito Recreation Department as a partner. On those mornings the lot is closed to cars from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you plan to launch from the Napa Street dock on a Sunday, park somewhere else or arrive with your boat already on your shoulder. The market, the finished park and the free dock all sit at the same corner, and the dock stays open after the vendors pack up at 2.
If you live near the north waterfront or have been thinking about a home closer to the water, I'm glad to talk through how the shoreline is changing between Napa Street and Turney Street. Tiffany Knef can walk you through any part of the Sausalito waterfront. Schedule a free consultation.
