Kayak + Camp Tomales Bay

Kayak out to a great beach where you can camp overnight with basic services (toilets!), the possibility of late night bioluminescence, and a sky full of stars.

You can rent kayaks from Blue Water Kayaking - they are wonderful, have tons of advice and the kayaks are in great condition. If you're traveling mid-week, pick up your kayaks at their Inverness location. It is a six-mile kayak from Inverness to Marshall Beach. On the weekends you can pick up a kayak from their Marshall location which is across the bay from the beach. During the weekend, Marshall Beach can get packed, but there are many other beach options further up the coastline - all using the same permit.

You can either port all your gear on your kayaks, or get a carry service from Blue Water - they will bring over your packs, food, booze, and wood for campfires. They charge a fee for the service. We found it easy to kayak over with our stuff, but we took two individual kayak's for two people for one night.

Kayaking in the bay is awesome, but can get windy. It takes a couple of hours to get from Inverness to Marshall Beach, with one or two stops along the way. The beach is flat with plenty of space for camping, and there's a hiking trail as well. It feels really peaceful.

We had a full moon so we didn't see the bioluminescence :( But we did see 3 otters frolicking in the bay the next morning and that was amazing. The only downside was that a raccoon came out and rifled through our stuff - and then tried to break into our tent! Definitely make sure you've got all your gear secure before going to bed.