A collection of travel and adventure stories

Tomales Bay Kayak Camping

Description and Directions >>

Description:
Tomales Bay is a 15-mile long coastal estuary located at Point Reyes National Seashore on the cental California Coast. Environmental campsites are located along the shores. Permits from the National Seashore park office are required for camping on the west side beaches of Tomales Bay. The beaches include Kilkenny Beach, Marshall Beach, Tomales Beach, Fruit Tree Beach, Blue Gum Beach and Avalis Beach. Pit toilets are located at Marshall and Tomales Beaches.

Activities:
kayaking, hiking, camping, picnicking, sightseeing

Directions:
From San Francisco, go north across the Golden Gate Bridge on Highwayy 101 and take the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard off ramp. From the East Bay, go across the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge and take the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard off ramp. Drive west on Sir Francis Drake for about 40 minutes until you reach Olema. Turn right on Highway 1 at Olema. Go north through the town of Point Reyes Station. Go about 12 miles on Highway 1 along the north shore of Tomales Bay until you reach Nick's Cove (or Miller Park).

Story Date 4/29/2004
Publish Date 11/18/2004

Story Perspectives >>

According to Mikala: Our kayak trip to Tomales Bay was great! For this trip, we planned on camping overnight at one of the isolated beaches on the other side of the bay. Our new kayaks were loaded to the max with our tent, sleeping bags, food, water, chairs, drinks, firewood, and more.

We launched from Nick's Cove and started for the far side. There was a slight wind on the water, which had a tendency to push one end of my loaded kayak the opposite way of what I intended. Other than that, the day was sunny and the paddle was not too hard. We reached the shore on the other end, where there were a few isolated beaches. On one of them, there was a herd of cattle wading through the water.

We finally reached Marshall Beach, where we would be camping. As we arrived, there were about 50 other kayakers landed on the beach. I was disappointed, because I had thought there wouldn't be many people. However, it appeared to be a group of kids on an outing for the day. After about an hour, they all launched their kayaks and returned across the bay. From that point on, we had the beach all to ourselves. It was terrific!

After setting up camp, we hiked up a dirt road that is near the beach. We continued up a gradual incline and stopped to enjoy the view of the bay from up high. We didn't continue to the ocean side, because it was pretty far. We returned for a nice dinner and relaxing evening around the campfire. As the sun was setting, we noticed a bunch of flying insects that surrounded us. At first, we thought they might be mosquitoes, but they never landed on us. They disappeared after it got dark.

It started getting pretty chilly, and then the fog started to roll in from the ocean. As we sat at the fire, the fog slowly enveloped everything around us...including the bay and far shore. We could no longer see any lights in the distance. It was exciting and a little eerie, as if we were the only humans left on earth. It was so quiet, but very peaceful.

I would like to say we enjoyed a very restful sleep that night, but I wasn't used the sounds. I kept waking up and wondering if a skunk or other animal was trying to get into the tent.

The next day, we paddled back up the bay toward Hog Island. As we neared the island, you could hear the sea lions on the other side. They were so loud! We kayaked on the far side, so that we didn't disturb them, and finished our paddle trip back at Nick's Cove.