Ready to get on the water on the California Delta?
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The California Delta is not one lake but a maze of rivers, sloughs and flooded islands where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers meet between the Bay Area, Sacramento and Stockton. With more than 1,000 miles of waterways, it is one of the biggest boating playgrounds in the West, with long flat runs for skiing and wakeboarding, quiet sloughs for anchoring, and riverside restaurants you can pull right up to. This page will help you get your bearings and plan your day. We offer the best boats, jet skis and water toys on the California Delta, ready and waiting for you right at the water.
California Delta at a Glance
- Where: between the Bay Area, Sacramento and Stockton, with Antioch, Brentwood, Discovery Bay, Bethel Island, Rio Vista, Isleton, Walnut Grove and Stockton around its edges
- Size: more than 1,000 miles of rivers, sloughs and channels, protected by more than 1,000 miles of levees
- Rivers: the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, with the Mokelumne and other smaller rivers flowing in
- Tides: the Delta is tidal, with two high tides and two low tides most days, so water depth changes through the day
- Famous spots: Franks Tract, Mildred Island, Discovery Bay, the Delta Loop and the historic town of Locke
- Best season: May through October, with hot inland days and the steady afternoon breeze off the bay
Boat and Jet Ski Rentals on the Delta
The Delta has something for every kind of day on the water. Take a wake boat or ski boat to a long straight slough for glassy wakeboarding, wakesurfing and skiing, or grab a couple of jet skis and explore the channels and islands. Add tubes and wakesurf boards, or book a private boat charter with a captain who knows the waterways.
The Delta is easy to get turned around in, so plan your route, keep an eye on the tide and know where you can get fuel before you head out.
Get to Know the Delta
Each part of the Delta has its own personality, so where you start shapes your day.
- Bethel Island and Franks Tract. the heart of the central Delta, where Franks Tract, a farm island that flooded in 1938, is now a huge open bay that is great for jet skis and a favorite of bass anglers.
- Discovery Bay. a waterfront community on the south side with long sloughs nearby, popular for skiing, wakeboarding and wakesurfing.
- Rio Vista and the Delta Loop. on the Sacramento River on the west side, with marinas, beaches and riverside restaurants along the Delta Loop near Isleton.
- Walnut Grove, Locke and the Meadows. the quieter north Delta along the Sacramento River and Snodgrass Slough, with shady anchorages and the old Chinese-American town of Locke.
- Stockton side. the east Delta off the San Joaquin River, with marinas near Stockton and Lodi and easy access to the sloughs around Mildred Island and Potato Slough.
Houseboating on the Delta
The Delta has a long houseboating history, and it is a different trip than a big mountain lake. Instead of one big body of water, you cruise from slough to slough, tie up in a quiet cove for the night and pull up to a riverside restaurant for dinner. Mildred Island, another flooded tract, and the Meadows near Locke are two classic overnight anchorages.
A ski boat or a couple of jet skis makes a Delta houseboat trip far easier, since you can leave the big boat anchored and run off to explore, ski or grab supplies.
Boating the Delta Safely
The Delta is shallow in places, especially at low tide, and the flooded islands like Franks Tract hide old levees, pilings and fence lines just under the surface, so stay in the marked channels until you know the area. Large ships use the deep-water channels on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, so give them plenty of room. Afternoon wind often builds in the west Delta, so the best riding water is usually early in the day.
Our Boats and Jet Skis
Getting to the California Delta
The Delta is about an hour east of San Francisco and Oakland by way of Highway 4 through Antioch and Brentwood, about 45 minutes south of Sacramento on Highway 160, which follows the Sacramento River levee, and just west of Stockton and Lodi. Highway 12 crosses the middle of the Delta between Fairfield, Rio Vista and Lodi. Sacramento International and Oakland are the closest major airports.
Good to Know on the California Delta
- California boating rules: since January 1, 2025, California requires a California Boater Card for anyone driving a motorized boat or jet ski, though people operating a rental vessel are exempt. No one under 16 may drive a boat or jet ski over 15 horsepower without adult supervision, and our rental drivers must be 18 or older.
- Slow near shore: California limits boats to 5 mph within 100 feet of swimmers and within 200 feet of swim beaches, swim floats and docks where boats are tied up.
- Speed zones: many sloughs, marinas and harbors have posted 5 mph zones, and they are enforced, especially on summer weekends.
- Tides and shallows: check the tide before you go, watch your depth near shorelines and flooded islands, and stay in the channel markers.
- Life jackets: everyone on a jet ski and anyone being towed must wear a life jacket, and so must children under 13 on a moving boat.
- Clean, drain and dry: if you bring your own boat, paddle board or kayak, clean, drain and dry it every time you leave the Delta to help keep invasive mussels out of other California lakes.
More Northern California Lakes
- California Delta guide, with more about the Delta
- Lake Berryessa, in the hills of Napa County
- Folsom Lake, just east of Sacramento
- New Melones Lake, in the Gold Country foothills
Browse all of our houseboating lakes, or call or text us at 888-205-7119 and we'll help you plan your Delta trip.
