The Hawaiian Legacy on the Petaluma
👉 Book Historic Ferry
👉 Reserve a Private Charter
Before roads connected the valleys, the river did.
In the early nineteenth century, Hawaiian sailors — known in California as Kanakas — were among the most experienced mariners in the Pacific world. They worked coastal trade routes, hunted sea otter, and navigated inland waterways from San Diego to Fort Ross and beyond.
To a Polynesian, the canoe was what the horse was to Europeans — a vehicle of movement, livelihood, and expansion.
In the 1830s, George C. Yount traveled north from Monterey with such a crew into the tidal reaches of San Pablo Bay and toward Petaluma.
In George Yount’s Chronicles, he described arriving in:
“Ducks and geese flew with whirr from the tule-covered estuary; deer, elk, wild horses and coyotes watched them without fear, while tall grass waved in the distance. ”
These voyages depended on Hawaiian tide knowledge and small-watercraft mastery — expertise that made inland exploration possible.
At Petaluma, Yount recorded abundant sea otter beds, trade that would later help finance California’s first vineyards.
Today, the tide still moves through these wetlands — a reminder that California’s beginnings were shaped by water, and by those who knew it best.
Experience the River on Your Terms
Step aboard the Kanaka River Voyage and travel the waterway as it was first reached — by boat.
Private charters offer an intimate way to explore the river, whether for a celebration, sunset cruise, corporate gathering, or heritage-focused excursion.
