Kayaking Around Point Reyes National Seashore

 

Safety First:

Always check the weather and marine forecasts before kayaking, canoeing, boating, etc. Visit our Your Safety While Boating page for information on preparing for and remaining safe while boating in the Point Reyes area.

 

Two kayakers enjoy a warm, calm, sunny day paddling on Tomales Bay.

Tomales Bay

The most popular area for kayaking at Point Reyes National Seashore is on Tomales Bay. Tomales Bay is a 24-kilometer (15-mile) long, 2645-hectare (6780-acre) tidal water body located in rural west Marin County, California. It is the largest unspoiled coastal embayment on the coast of California. The bay is largely bounded on the west by Point Reyes National Seashore. Adjacent communities include Point Reyes Station at the head of the bay, Inverness on the west, Marshall on the east, and Dillon Beach at the mouth of Tomales Bay.

Camping on the beaches on the westside of Tomales Bay north of Tomales Bay State Park's northern boundary, if you have reserved a boat-in camping permit. Even if you aren't camping, feel free to download our Tomales Bay Boat-in Camping Map (2,632 KB PDF), which shows the locations of some launch sites, beaches, and other useful landmarks to help you navigate around the bay.

Please note: Pelican Point, Duck Island, and the east side of Hog Island are closed to the public year round to better protect nesting and roosting birds.
Map of Hog Island closure (98 KB PDF)

Drakes Estero and Estero de Limantour

Kayaking and canoeing are also permitted on Drakes Estero and Estero de Limantour from July 1 through February 28. To protect harbor seals from disturbance during the most crucial part of the pupping season, from March 1 through June 30, the National Park Service closes Drakes Estero and Estero de Limantour to boating.
Map of Estero closures (2,952 KB PDF)

Since Drakes Estero and Estero de Limantour are designated as Wilderness, motorized watercraft are prohibited year-round.

Ocean Kayaking

Another area along Point Reyes National Seashore that is sometimes used by kayakers is the open coast. Ocean kayaking is potentially very dangerous. It requires additional skills, experience, and equipment, and is not recommended for most kayakers. The most frequently used section of the coast by kayakers is in Drakes Bay from Chimney Rock to Limantour Beach. Ocean kayaks may be launched and landed between Limantour Beach and Sculptured Beach, but otherwise must remain more than a quarter mile from the shoreline so as not to disturb marine mammals and seabirds. Other sections of the coast are kayaked, but, since one must remain more than a quarter mile from the shoreline, these waters are not as sheltered from the prevailing wind and ocean swell and are therefore much more dangerous.

Marine Protected Areas

Per the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), the waters within 305 meters (1000 feet) of shore along the Point Reyes Headlands is closed to all vessels from Chimney Rock west to Longitude 123° 01.00'. Per the Superintendent's Compendium, the waters within 91 meters (100 yards) of shore are closed to all vessels from Longitude 123° 01.00' west to the western end of the headlands below the Point Reyes Lighthouse. There are also 91-meter (300-foot) special closures around Point Resistance and Double Point/Stormy Stack, per the MLPA.

Other Closures

Other temporary or seasonal closures may be in effect at different times due to breeding populations of marine mammals, shorebirds, or seabirds. Please check in at the Bear Valley Visitor Center prior to a trip in order to get updated information on closures or conditions.

Kayak Responsibly

Recreational use of Tomales Bay has grown in recent years, especially for camping, boating, and wildlife watching. The National Park Service at Point Reyes is concerned about the effects of the growth in recreational use. The Seashore faces the challenge of not only preserving the pristine shorelines of Tomales Bay and assisting in protecting clean water, but also providing recreational opportunities for the public. Visitor use of national parklands must always be weighed against the responsibility to maintain natural and cultural resources for succeeding generations.

As such, it is important to minimize our impacts and Leave No Trace of our visits to Tomales Bay and Point Reyes National Seashore.:

• Take only pictures; leave only footprints.
• While fishing and the collection of berries and mushrooms is permitted, the collection or take of anything else is prohibited.
• Please read A Guide to Low-Impact Boat Camping if you intend to participate in kayaking in and around Point Reyes National Seashore, even if you aren't camping.
• Please follow all park regulations. Some of the more pertinent rules and regulations related to kayaking are elaborated upon below.
• Please note that personal water craft (PWC)—often referred to by the trademarked brand names Jet Ski™, WaveRunner™, or Sea-Doo™—are prohibited on Tomales Bay.

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Kayak Rentals

For a list of Kayaking Outfitters in the Point Reyes area, check our Outfitters and Tours page.

Disclaimer: The National Park Service provides the names, links, and phone numbers of area businesses as a visitor convenience. Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement.

Launch Sites

There are six locations at which kayaks or other watercraft may be launched onto Tomales Bay:
(locations are listed in the order in which one would encounter them moving counter-clockwise around the bay from Tomales Point to Dillon Beach)

Day-use Only, No Overnight Parking:

Tomales Bay State Park

Tomales Bay State Park provides two sites at which one may launch kayaks onto Tomales Bay: Millerton Point and Hearts Desire Beach. No overnight use or beach fires. Contact Tomales Bay State Park for more information at 415-669-1140.

Hearts Desire Beach

Hearts Desire Beach is on the west side of Tomales Bay off Pierce Point Road. It is a day-use area (no overnight parking) and there is a day-use fee. You must carry your boat approximately 100 meters (110 yards) across a sandy beach. Water and restrooms are available at the beach. Orange floats are placed in the water in summer to indicate the swimming area. Boaters may land to the south of the orange floats. Motorized vessels are prohibited within 30 meters (100 feet) of the swim area markers.

Millerton Point

Millerton Point is on the east side of Tomales Bay, five kilometers (3 miles) north of Point Reyes Station. A vault toilet is available. One must carry one's boat along a short trail approximately 100 meters (110 yards) to the water. It is very shallow and is best used at high tides.

Chicken Ranch Beach

Chicken Ranch Beach is a three-acre natural area adjacent to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard 1.8 km (1.2 miles) north of Inverness. Nestled along the west shore of Tomales Bay, it is a popular kayak launch site. One must carry one's boat along a short trail and across sand (and maybe mud at low tide) 100 meters (110 yards) or more to the water's edge. No camping, overnight parking, or beach fires. Contact Marin County Parks for more information at 415-499-6387.

With Overnight Parking:

Tomales Bay Resort

Cement boat ramp available. The inn and marina are located on the west side of the bay. It is off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) north of Inverness. There is a boat launch fee plus a parking fee. No dump station. Contact Tomales Bay Resort for more information at 415-669-1389

Miller Boat Launch

Miller Boat Launch is located on the east side of Tomales Bay along Highway 1 just north of Nick's Cove, which is ~6.5 km (~4 mi) north of the town of Marshall. This Marin County park has a public boat launch with a cement ramp into the water, in addition to a pier and restrooms. Overnight parking is permitted in the upper lot, to the right/north as you pull in. No overnight camping or beach fires. Contact Marin County Parks for more information at 415-499-6387.

Lawson's Landing

Lawson's Landing's campground and boat launch are located in Dillon Beach with direct access to the north end of Tomales Bay. The boat ramp is a sand bottomed ramp and Lawson's Landing uses a fork lift to move boats onto the water, or if you have 4 wheel drive they allow you to use it to put your boat into the water. There is a dump station and boat rentals. Restrooms and water available. There is a day-use fee and overnight parking requires purchasing a Lawson's Landing campsite. Contact Lawson's Landing for more information at 707-878-2443.

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Day-use Only Areas

Certain areas allow only day use:

Drakes Estero and Estero de Limantour

The only marine Wilderness on the west coast of the continental United States, the esteros (Spanish for estuaries) offer relatively undisturbed habitat for harbor seals, bat rays, leopard sharks, and many species of birds and fish. Overnight use of Drakes Estero and Estero de Limantour is prohibited. A vault toilet is available at the kayak launch site at the south end of the Drakes Estero Access Road.

Hog Island

The island is in the northern section of Tomales Bay across from Whites Gulch on the west side and Nicks Cove on the east side. It is a critical wildlife habitat, a favorite haul-out for seals, and roosting place for brown pelicans. The island is open on the west side only for day use. Map of Hog Island closure (98 KB PDF).

Tomales Bay State Park

Hearts Desire Beach

Orange floats are placed to mark the swimming area during the summer. Boaters may pull up on the southern edge of the beach to access the restrooms and drinking water. No overnight use or beach fires.

Indian Beach

This beach is north of Hearts Desire Beach and has two redwood kotcas (traditional Coast Miwok sleeping shelters) on it. A pit toilet is available. No overnight use or beach fires.

Millerton Point

Millerton Point is on the east side of Tomales Bay, five kilometers (3 miles) north of Point Reyes Station. A vault toilet is available.

Chicken Ranch Beach

Nestled along the west shore of Tomales Bay, Chicken Ranch Beach County Park is a three-acre natural area adjacent to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard 1.8 km (1.2 miles) north of Inverness. A portable toilet is available.

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Additional Rules and Regulations

Beach Fires

• Beach Fire Permits are required. If you plan to have a wood fire on national seashore beaches, visit our Beach Fires page or stop by aone of the national seashore's visitor centers for a free required permit.
• Beach fires are prohibited on state park beaches.
• Wood gathering is prohibited.
• Please wait until you are in West Marin before purchasing fire wood. Don't Move Firewood: Buy it where you burn it.
• Read the content about Fires on A Guide to Low-Impact Boat Camping for more information.

 

Drones

Launching, landing, or operating a remotely operated aircraft (aka "remotely piloted aircraft," "unmanned aircraft," or "drone") from or on lands and waters administered by the National Park Service within the boundaries of Point Reyes National Seashore is prohibited.

If you observe drone use in Point Reyes National Seashore, please call park dispatch at 415-464-5170 or contact staff at the nearest Visitor Center as soon as possible. If you observe drone use in other National Park Service areas or if you find photographs or videos online or elsewhere that were illegally taken within National Park Service areas from drones, you can report the violation to the National Park Service tip line at 888-653-0009 or by email.

Glass Containers

Possession of a glass container within fifteen meters (fifty feet) of any riverbank, lakeshore, or beach, or on the water, or in a vessel is prohibited. This restriction is necessary to reduce the amount of injurious trash in the park and for the protection of visitors who frequent these areas in bare feet.

Overnight Use

There is a fee and permit system for overnight camping within Point Reyes National Seashore, including camping on the beaches on the westside of Tomales Bay north of Tomales Bay State Park's northern boundary. Overnight beach camping is not permitted anywhere else on Tomales Bay or elsewhere within Point Reyes National Seashore. Reservations may be made online at Recreation.gov. Reservations may also be made by phone by calling toll free 877-444-6777 (TDD: 877-833-6777). Contact the National Seashore's camping desk at 415-464-5100 x2 x5 if you have any specific questions about overnight camping on Tomales Bay.

Campers on Tomales Bay beaches must arrive by boat and may not hike, bike, or ride horses to the beaches. Overnight parking for boat-in campers is prohibited within Point Reyes National Seashore (i.e., along the Pierce Point and L Ranch Roads and at the Marshall Beach Trailhead) and Tomales Bay State Park.

Read A Guide to Low-Impact Boat Camping for more information about camping on the beaches of Tomales Bay and obtaining a permit to do so.

Sanitation

Disposing of human waste in the bay or onto park beaches is prohibited. On Tomales Bay, there are vault toilets at Marshall Beach and Tomales Beach. If camping on other beaches, you are required to pack out all human waste using a portable toilet or similar commercially designed waste disposal containers that can be emptied into an RV dump station or pit toilet, or a GO anywhere toilet kit® (formerly sold as WAG® Bags). While there are restrooms at Hearts Desire Beach, Lawsons Landing, and Miller Boat Launch, a pit toilet at Indian Beach, and portable toilets at Chicken Ranch Beach, camping is prohibited at all of these locations.

Water for Cooking, Drinking, and Cleaning

• Potable water is not provided at any of the beaches along Tomales Bay within the National Seashore.
• Bring your own fresh water for cooking and drinking, as there are few water sources emptying into the bay on the west side.
• Boil, treat, or filter any water obtained from streams, creeks, springs, etc..
• If you wash dishes, be aware that all soaps can adversely affect water. Use biodegradable soap when possible.
• Do not dump wash/graywater in the bay; dispose of all dirty water 30 meters (100 feet) or more from any source source of water.

Bioluminescence

Microscopic, single-celled organisms called dinoflagellates produce and emit light through a chemical reaction process. When these organisms are moved by waves or by the paddle of a kayak or canoe, the light becomes visible, especially on dark nights. Learn more about dinoflagellates and bioluminescence.

Invasive Plants and Animals

To help control the spread of non-native plants and animals, please:

• Clean off visible aquatic plants, animals, and mud from your watercraft, gear, paddles, floats, ropes, anchors, dip nets, and trailer before leaving water access.
• Scrub the hull using a stiff brush.
• Rinse watercraft, trailer, and equipment with high pressure hot water, when possible.
• Drain water from watercraft, sponges, bailers, and water-containing devices before leaving water access.
• Dry everything five days or more, unless otherwise required by local or state laws, when moving between waters to kill small species not easily seen OR wipe with a towel before reuse.
• Learn more steps you can take by visiting the Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!™ website.

More Information

• Visit our Exotic Invasive Plants page.
• Visit the PlayCleanGo® Stop Invasive Species In Your Tracks® campaign's website.

Multimedia

Kayakers and other visitors to Point Reyes may find our Wilderness Videos page to be of interest. There we feature multiple videos about the Phillip Burton Wilderness and Leave No Trace® outdoor ethics.

Ahoy Boaters & Kayakers! Watch this short PSA from the Seabird Protection Network to learn about California's amazing seabirds and how you can help marine wildlife while enjoying the beautiful coast!

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