Duxbury Reef
Agate Beach, Bolinas / Marin · near Bolinas / Stinson Beach · SF Bay Area
Tidepooling
At a glance
- Fee
- Free — county lot at the end of Elm Rd
- Season
- Year-round · calmest on winter minus-tide afternoons
What is here
- Species
- Giant green anemones · Nudibranchs · Moon snails · Chitons on shale shelves
- Highlights
- The Shale Terraces
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Gear
- Grippy wet-friendly shoes — shale is slick · Tide chart; leave as the tide turns · Wind shell — Bolinas is exposed · Leashed dogs OK on the beach, not in pools
Tidepooling detail
- Nickname
- North America's Great Shale Reef
- Pool type
- shale
- Program
- self-guided
- Mpa
- Duxbury Reef State Marine Conservation Area
- Best tide
- Below 0.0 ft; the shale shelves flood gently — good for kids
- Docent note
- No standing program; occasional guided walks by West Marin environmental groups
- Intl tip
- A 30-min drive from Point Reyes Station via the notoriously unsignposted Bolinas turnoff. Flat shale shelves, gentle tides, free parking — the family pick of the Marin coast. Combine with Point Reyes or Stinson Beach; check swell as well as tide.
- Directions note
- Bolinas famously removes its road signs — watch for the unmarked Hwy 1 turnoff
The guide
Duxbury Reef, reached from little Agate Beach at the end of Bolinas's Elm Road, is one of the largest shale intertidal reefs in…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Duxbury Reef — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.8963, -122.6994