This article was last updated October 11, 2018.

For lovers of the outdoors, a well-built (and inexpensive) inflatable kayak can open a new world of adventure options. Recently, some friends and I kayaked across Tomales Bay in Point Reyes National Seashore and camped overnight.

Kayaking Gear

The real star of this trip is the Explorer K2, an inflatable 2-person kayak available for $99 on Amazon Prime:

Test outing at the Aquatic Park

I was skeptical — but after a few outings this kayak has proven itself to be very reliable. For day trips, it’s everything you want. Make sure you unbox this at home and the box and other unneeded items at home — the dumpster at Tomales Bay can’t handle everyone dumping their boxes there! More on “Leave No Trace” later.

For camping trips, you’re going to want a tug boat:

Plastic bags around gear that shouldn’t get wet

If you decide to get a different tug boat, make sure it’s large and rugged enough to handle camping gear. Again, please make sure you unbox at home and only bring what you need. Having hooks for bungee cords is c̵o̵n̵v̵e̵n̵i̵e̵n̵t̵ ̵b̵u̵t̵ ̵n̵o̵t̵ ̵e̵s̵s̵e̵n̵t̵i̵a̵l̵.̵ edit: let’s call this essential: you don’t want your gear to fall out, but no one wants your gear to fall out and trash up Tomales Bay.

Paddling across the bay can be wet! Make sure to wear waterproof clothes or bring a dry change of clothes. Blue jeans will not cut it.

Camping Gear

Other than how you arrive, it’s standard camping — so include the essentials:

Tent

Sleeping bag and pad

Firewood (pine or almond in Tomales Bay) and kindling

Water

Food

Portable toilet

Point Reyes National Seashore requires you bring a portable toilet if you camp at any of the sites without bathroom facilities:

It sounds a little unpleasant, but.. for overnight camping you can adjust your, ahem, schedule around the trip.

Logistics

Campsites are all along the western coast of Tomales Bay. We decided to launch from Miller Boat Launch and camp at one of the sites directly across the bay. Regardless of where you camp, you need to pick up your permit from the Bear Valley Visitor Center. It’s also worth asking the ranger about the conditions for the night (e.g. temperature, wind, current strength). Permits can be reserved on Recreation.gov.

Miller Boat Launch, next to Nick’s Cove restaurant in Marshall, CA, provides a boat ramp, overnight parking, and a bathroom. Overnight parking is available on the hill and a 2-day permit, available at the kiosk, is $10.

Launching

Launching from Miller Boat Launch provides easy access to several beaches. You register for a specific site, but the ranger told us we could camp where there was space. For us, our site was the only beach with space to spare. The earlier you can get there, the more options you’ll have. Expect it to take about an hour to paddle from the launch to the western shore.

Some beaches directly across from Miller Boat Launch

Western shore of Tomales Bay

Practice Before Your Camping Trip and Know Your Limits

I know the tone of this article makes it seem like this is easy and anyone can do it. Which is true! With a caveat: before I took 5 people out to Tomales Bay for camping, I went up the weekend before with the inflatable raft and kayak, and good weather, to do a test run. I started early in the day and kayaked out to the island and back. I had also done an organized bioluminescence kayak trip the year before. It’s critically important that you know your limitations. Have you never kayaked before? Then this is not an ideal first trip: the water is cold, choppy and opens out into the ocean. Even a seasoned kayaker can get into a bad situation if the wind takes a turn for the worst. We are lucky that there are rescue teams if you get into a hairy situation, but you should do everything in your power to make sure that doesn’t happen. And just to be repetitive: if you have never kayaked or never used this inflatable kayak, Tomales Bay should not be your first attempt.

Pay Attention to the Winds

Two big things to pay attention to:

your own safety

making sure the wind doesn’t blow anything into the bay

Weather information can be checked online for Inverness.

Wind information is provided by the NOAA online for Tomales Bay.

If the weather is not good, you should abort your plans and not kayak camp. You really don’t want to get into a rescue situation. You have to stop at the ranger station for your permit anyway, you should make them aware of your plans and ask them if they have any concerns about the water or wind. But remember, it’s ultimately your responsibility: if you put in your kayak and determine that it’s more than you can handle, run away and live to [kayak] another day.

And regarding wind blowing your gear out of your kayak/tugboat, you should put everything in large trash bags and use bungee cords/rope to secure it to your vessel.

Pay Attention to the Tide!

It is critically important to pay attention to tide charts. The difference between low and high tide is about 5 feet — enough to make many beaches disappear entirely. Do not pitch your tent below the high water line; your tent should be on dry sand.

High tide at 3pm and super high tide at 9am

Leave No Trace

I’ve mentioned unboxing at home a few times. I want to make sure I drive home the whole principle of Leave No Trace. From the park administration:

Several times over the past year or more, the small dumpster at Miller Park has been filled (over-filled at times) with numerous large (and not flattened) boxes. This dumpster is for use by all people, and is partially paid for by the fishermen who launch out of this site. When it is filled up, trash is left next to it which is then blown into the bay, which none of us who hold this place dear want to have happen.

Trash blowing into pristine Tomales Bay is a terrible shame; please do your part in preventing this!

Three things wrong with this: 1) boxes aren’t broken down 2) boxes like this should be recycled and 3) you should shed all unneeded trash at home before you get to Miller Boat Landing

This also goes for your campsite, where you should be packing out all trash and recyclables:

if there is trash you can leave at home before you go, leave it (food packaging).

bring ALL trash and recyclables back from your camp site. You should do an inspection of camp before you leave to make sure you retrieve all the trash, no matter how small.

cans used while camping should be saved separately to be recycled.

Miller Boat Landing only has a garbage bin, no recycling — so recyclable material (like those cardboard boxes the kayak came in) should be recycled at home.

Bring a Compass

Like much of the California coast, the mornings can be very foggy. You could wake up to very low visibility, but still need to leave before it burns off. Without a compass, you’ll end up going in circles. Even with a compass, it can be challenging to stay on course!

Hog Island in the distance

Concluding Thoughts

Since writing this article, it has come to my attention that many people have showed up unprepared:

leaving unreasonable amounts of trash at Miller Boat Landing

throwing out recyclables at Miller Boat Landing

not securing items to their boats and contaminating Tomales Bay

not paying attention to the water conditions or wind conditions and requiring rescue operations

not having sufficient kayaking experience under their belt and requiring rescue operations

This article has since been updated to emphasize these points more strongly. With my background as a Boy Scout and many other leave no trace experiences, I naively assumed that others would have the same knowledge and place the same importance on principles of leave no trace and self-reliance. It was only after Marin County Parks administrators sent me photos of how some people have been interpreting this article did I realize that not everyone placed the same importance on these principles.

Trash not in a dumpster will blow away, likely into Tomales Bay

Tomales Bay is a very special place and we’re fortunate to have access to it. But like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Tahoe or any other national treasure, we need to make sure we take appropriate steps to preserve this unique place for both the local plants and animals, as well as ensure future generations can enjoy the same pristine experience.

More Information

Kayaking around Point Reyes National Seashore

A Guide to Low-Impact Boat Camping

Point Reyes Seashore Backcountry Camping