Hauntingly beautiful, Mono Lake is an ancient, unusual lake that is home to the towers of tufa and shimmering blue water. On our first trip there, we were surprised to learn that you could actually kayak on Mono Lake. We thought that you were only able to enjoy its unique tufa from the shore. Of course, we couldn’t wait to get our Pelican kayaks out on that super salty water.
STATS:
Where:
Navy Beach – Coordinates: 37°56’26.35″N 119° 1’11.63″W
Rental Places:
You can use your own kayaks here at Mono Lake. If you don’t have one, you can rent them at Mono Lake Kayak Rentals or book your tours with Caldera Kayak.
Difficulty:
Intermediate. It takes a little bit of kayaking skill to navigate through the tufas.
Parking:
Parking is free. There is good size dirt lot at Navy Beach.
Restrooms:
There are restrooms there. Although they were closed when we went.
Estimated Completion Time:
2-4 hours. It all depends on how far you would like to go.
Ideal Time:
Morning is the calmest. Get there early. You need to get back to shore by 1 or 2 pm the latest. Afternoon wind can be very dangerous.
Ideal Weather:
Mild temperature days with calm winds are obviously preferred. Summer and Fall have the best weather for kayaking, even though most of the time, access to the lake is available year-round.
VIDEO:
THE ADVENTURE:
We can not stress enough the importance of getting your paddle in as early as possible in the morning when kayaking on Mono Lake. You need to get out of the water before the afternoon winds kick in. Never begin a trip when the wind is blowing. Mono Lake is a very tricky body of water. It can be perfectly still one moment and before you know it, winds can be in excess of 100 mph, especially in the center of the lake. This has unfortunately led to the deaths of several kayakers over the years.
The best place to launch your kayak is at Navy Beach. For additional launching points and advice, stop by the Mono Lake Information Center in Lee Vining. To get to Navy Beach from the 395 North, you’ll make a right on Mono Lake Basin Road or CA-120 E. About 4.7 miles later, make a left on Test Station Rd. Almost as soon as you make the left, you will see a sign pointing to Navy Beach, make a right. It is all dirt road from here. Just follow the signs to Navy Beach or use the coordinates above, you should be able to find the parking lot.
If you are launching your own kayak, you do need to carry it down to the water’s edge. The trail that goes to the water’s edge from the parking lot is short but sandy and rocky. If you have a kayak cart, this would be a perfect place to use it. We definitely put our homemade ones to use. If you would like to see the instructions so you can build some for yourself, click here.
As we reached the water, we heard that familiar buzzing sound. It was the good old Alkaline flies that live at Mono Lake. The shore is literally covered with them. Thankfully, these flies are harmless and they seem to scurry out of your way when you walk through.
You have a couple of options when kayaking on Mono Lake. Option one is to make the 2.75 miles each way across the lake to Paoha Island. If you go with this option, you need to be at least an intermediate kayaker because of the unpredictable weather conditions. You also need to leave VERY early to avoid the afternoon wind. Option two is to trace the shoreline for around 0.4 miles to paddle amongst Mono Lake’s famous tufa. We decided to go with the tufa route. It seemed to be a more fun and iconic route. It also seemed a lot safer, since we would be able to get on shore quickly if the wind picked up. Don’t forget, it is illegal to damage tufa in any way so be careful when you paddle among them.
One thing that you need to watch out for when kayaking on Mono Lake is Osprey nests during their mating season. They are gorgeous and majestic birds, but they need their space. There are signs that ask you to stay 250 yards away from the nests. It basically adds up to 750 feet. The only tricky thing about maintaining this distance is that some of the nests can be hidden on the backside of a tufa. Therefore, you may unintentionally get a little closer than you mean to. If this happens, just get out of the area as soon as you can. If you see any rangers on the shore or bird watchers, you can ask them where the nests are as well.
We shoved off from Navy beach and made a left tracing the coastline. This area is the most scenic part of the lake. It was a beautiful scene with the tufa straight in front of us and the Sierra Nevada mountains towering over them in the distance. It was so pretty in fact, that you could almost ignore all the alkaline flies hovering over the water. Luckily, the flies seemed to flock nearer to shore at Navy Beach. They seemed to thin out as we went further out. Their number seemed to increase in the afternoon as well.
The salinity of the water had our kayaks riding a little higher in the water than usual, which was a unique experience. However, it wasn’t high enough to cause a loss of stability. Because of the high level of salinity, Mono Lake is actually teeming with brine shrimp. If you look down in the clear water, you can see them everywhere. It’s like a sea monkey convention. (FYI: sea monkeys are brine shrimp).
Kayaking on Mono Lake is such a unique experience. As we cruised along, we noticed some bubbles popping up in the middle of the water. As we got a little closer, we noticed that there was a tufa about 2 feet under the water with a natural spring shooting out of the top. It looked almost like an underwater volcano.
There are quite a few of these underwater tufa along the way. Some of them will sneak up on you if you don’t pay attention. One snuck up on Dustin and he had to make a hard turn to avoid hitting it.
As we reached the peninsula, we hugged the shoreline because we were doing our best to avoid getting close to any osprey’s nests. We saw a canoe tour group making their way through the tufa so we figured that it was safe to go through there as well. Once you start to round the peninsula, you will find yourself deep among the tufa. This is such a unique view that you can’t get any other way other than actually being on the water.
We love technical spots and kayaking on Mono Lake definitely fits the bill. There are plenty of small gaps to squeeze through that will take you to different passageways. Just make sure to pay attention to those sneaky underwater tufa. Also, keep in mind, it is illegal to damage any tufa. There is a short hiking trail running behind the tufa. This is where you can view the tufa from shore. It can be accessed from the South Tufa parking lot. You could definitely see the envy from the people on the trail that we were getting such a unique perspective.
If you go just passed the hiking trail, there is another neat tufa section to paddle through. Even though most of the tufa areas look quite similar, we still pressed on, exploring every passageway that we could.
After spending sometimes paddling, Dustin wanted to follow a recommendation from a very nice lady that we met at the Olancha Sculpture Garden. She said that we needed to swim in the lake. With the flies and everything, he was a little creeped out at first. But he had to give it a shot. It was a surreal experience. Dustin got in the water, laid back, and he instantly floated up to the top. The salinity here makes you even more buoyant than you are in the ocean. If you are going to do this, I highly recommend having a place to shower up nearby. The water did coat his skin with a salty film. The most important thing is to not let the water in your eyes.
We definitely recommend kayaking on Mono Lake at least once if you have a chance. This is definitely one unique body of water. Make sure to give your kayaks a nice bath after though. It gets very crusty because of the salt. If you need a close but affordable place to stay close by, we recommend Tom’s Place. The customer service there is exceptional. Don’t forget to check out Fossil Falls if you travel along Highway 395, as well as Hot Creek Geological Site. If you are heading to Tahoe, we recommend kayaking at Sand Harbor, taking a nice sunset hike down to the gorgeous Chimney Beach. If you like something more extreme, check out Tahoe Via Ferrata.
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RECOMMEND GEAR:
Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
• Sunscreen
Make sure to bring lots of sunscreens. There is no shade on the lake. You will be very exposed to the sun. We use eco-friendly sunscreen, Alba Botanica Hawaiian Sunscreen or Sun Bum Sunscreen.
• Water shoes
We didn’t use them but it is nice to have if you want to climb up the boulders or run around the beach area. We usually use ALEADER Women’s Mesh Slip-on Water Shoes for Vy’s shoes and ALEADER Men’s Quick Drying Aqua Water Shoes for Dustin’s shoes
• Water
Bring more than you think you’ll need. It gets toasty on the lake since you are exposed to the sun.
• Dry bag
For your extra towels, sunscreen, camera, and phones, etc. We use Field and Stream Dry Bag. The Earth Pak Waterproof Dry Bag also works amazing.
• Lunch and snacks
It’s good to tame the hangry monster. Also, in case of an emergency.
• Towels
In case you want to play in the water.
• Life jacket
Always have at least one Coast Guard approved life jacket per boater, as under California state law.
• Waterproof Phone Case
Not required but it is nice to have. Especially if you like to take photos with your phone or playing music. It will get wet. Our phone cases were donated by my sister. She got the Mpow Waterproof Case.
• Windbreaker or jacket
The weather on the lake can change very suddenly. It always nice to be prepared.
• Collapsible Cooler
We use Igloo Maxcold Cooler to keep our water cold. It’s compact enough to put in inside our kayaks.
• Kayak and Paddle
We use the Pelican Mustang 100x Kayak and Pelican Sports Poseidon Kayak Paddle.
• Binoculars
Not required unless you want to do some bird watching. There are tons of birds here.
CAMERA GEAR:
• Camera:
Sony a7 III
Gopro Hero 7 Black
• Accessories:
Bobber – Floating Hand Grip for GoPro HERO Cameras
• Lenses:
Sony 24 -70mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T Zoom Lens
Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX
• Drone:
Mavic 2 Pro Combo
