A day at Tomales Bay

We had a wonderful day at Tomales Bay a few weeks ago, beginning with a perfect hike from Tomales Point trailhead: warm, sunny, and less windy...! We could see the surf, ocean, seagulls, AND tule elk. The Tomales Point tule elk reserve is one of the great places to watch wildlife around the Bay Area, just a bit more than an hour's drive from San Francisco. This 9.5 mile out and back hike is moderate and pleasant.


I was totally excited to see the elk and was told that now is their mating season, so the males and females  are frequently grouped together. At an observation point, I saw more than a dozen female elk sitting close to each other, and one male elk sitting about 10 feet away checking them out.

A huge antler of a male elk was shown at the observation point. The ranger told us antlers fall off once a year and they grow bigger every year. I asked him if they just picked up antlers around the reserve once in a while. He said federal law prevents people from taking any antlers with them. Huh, this didn't seem to answer my question.

After the hike, we took off to Heart's Desire Beach for a picnic with Booboo's picanic basket. This was a fantastic place for a lunch break. Believe it or not, Heart's Desire Beach is one of the few beaches in the Bay Area which doesn't put your life at risk with icy water temperatures and rip tides. It is a white stretch of sand running along a calm, sheltered stretch of Tomales Bay.

Our last stop of the trip was The Marshall Store, my favorite oyster joint. These oysters are as local as it gets! They raise them on their oyster farm just up the bay. The view from the deck is very peaceful.