Kitesurfing Kinmel Bay

Introduction

Kinmel Bay is situated next to the town of Rhyl. The town has seen better days but the beach is pretty good and provides an excellent spot for newbies. There’s a kite school there (which is actually where I started).

At high tide there’s not much you can do but wait, but at low tide there’s a huge sandy beach with loads of room for launching. The water tends to be relatively flat, again making it an ideal spot to learn.

Facilities

• Car park
• Supermarket within walking distance
• Kite school has a shop which carries a few spares and North gear if you have some spending money

Wind Directions

Kinmel Bay will work on anything from WSW, clockwise all the way round to NE. If you arrive and it’s not quite windy enough, continue down the coast to Lligwy or Llandona (reviews to follow)

Hazards to watch out for

Kinmel is pretty safe, and if it’s on you’ll have plenty of other kitesurfers to watch out for you, and help you launch/land.

Don’t ride 2 hours either side of high tide.

Local info

Just park up and walk straight toward the sea from the car park.

You need to buy a permit to ride at Westshore & Kinmel Bay. You can pay £10 per day or £15 per year. I’m told that to qualify for the annual £15 version you need to be a member of North Wales Power Kite Club. Check this though as my brother paid for the £15 pa pass and he’s not a member of aforementioned club.

Wind Forecast & Live Readings

I’m hoping at some point to get a decent feed into the site for weather, but until then here’s a link to 7 day wind forecast for Kinmel Bay.
And if you’re wondering if it’s on right now, I think this is the best resource: Latest hour by hour wind readings, Rhyl.

Getting There and Parking

Turn off the A548 toward the ASDA supermarket, continue straight past the supermarket until you reach the sea (less than 1 minute). Parking is free and the car park is literally right next to the beach.