Tomales Bay
Point Reyes / Marin · near Point Reyes Station / Marshall · SF Bay Area
Fishing · Kayaking & SUP
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Halibut summer · sharks/rays year-round
- Best season
- Year-round · Best spring and fall · Summer fog common · Bioluminescence: summer–fall nights
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+) required. Tomales Bay, a long, narrow estuary along the San Andreas Fault, is known for halibut drifting and shore fishing for sharks and rays. Clamming for horseneck/gaper clams is popular (license + limits). Boat/kayak opens the bay.
- Permit
- No permit. Multiple public launches — Millerton Point, Hearts Desire Beach (Tomales Bay State Park, $8 day use), Marshall Beach. Oyster farm tours book through kayak outfitters.
What is here
- Features
- Scenic Point Reyes estuary · Halibut drifting · Leopard sharks & bat rays · Clamming on the tide flats
- Wildlife
- Harbor seals · Leopard sharks · Bat rays · Shorebirds · White pelicans · Tule elk visible from water (Point Reyes)
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Fishing detail
- Water type
- bay-delta
- Water
- brackish
- Methods
- Bait · Drifting · Kayak
- Boat
- both
- Target species
- California halibut · Leopard shark & bat ray · Jacksmelt & perch · Dungeness crab (in bay, season)
- Intl tip
- License required. Halibut drifting in summer; leopard sharks and rays year-round from shore. Clamming (horseneck/gaper) on the flats needs a license and limits check. Kayak/boat opens the bay. Combine with Point Reyes hikes and the local oysters. Scenic and mellow.
Kayaking & SUP detail
- Nickname
- Point Reyes National Seashore
- Water types
- estuary · protected-bay
- Exposure
- sheltered
- Sup friendly
- Yes
- Wetsuit
- 3mm to 5mm recommended · Bay water 54–60°F · Cold but manageable with proper gear
- Tidal note
- Tomales Bay is a 15-mile long inlet — tides matter most near the narrow mouth at Tomales. Most paddling in the mid-bay (Marshall to Inverness) is well-protected and tide-tolerant. Kayak outfitters time guided tours with optimal tidal windows.
- Intl tip
- Point Reyes National Seashore above Tomales Bay has some of the finest coastal hiking in California — the Limantour Beach loop, the lighthouse trail, and the Tomales Point tule elk route are all within 20 minutes of the kayak launch sites. Hog Island Oyster Company's Marshall Farm store is the post-paddle stop for visitors who didn't book the guided oyster tour.
The guide
Tomales Bay is a long, slender, spectacularly scenic estuary lying along the San Andreas Fault between the Point Reyes peninsul…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Tomales Bay — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.19, -122.92