2021-08-07 - Bioluminescent Beach Camping at Tomales Bay

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2021-08-07 - Bioluminescent Beach Camping at Tomales Bay
2021-08-07 - Bioluminescent Beach Camping at Tomales Bay

Background

We'll be doing a one day camping trip at Tomales Bay Boat-in Campground in Point Reyes! I've been here before for bioluminescent kayaking, so expect to see bioluminescence in the water at night (little creatures that light up the water at night when you move it)!

This is a boat-in campsite, so we will need to ferry people and things from the car to the beach campsite, but it shouldn't be bad as it's only a 2 mile stretch across an inlet (and I've done this before--even at night--so it should be decently calm). We will have a 5-person inflatable boat to ferry everything across. Depending on the number of people coming, expect more than one trip to ferry people and things back and forth.

Expected cost: $40-$50/person for permits, food+drinks, boat, etc. (Final amount TBD, but Offbeat will subsidize the costs as needed to not go over $50/person.)

Important note: This will be our first time trying out this campsite and doing boat-in camping, so expect a bit of an adventure, though it should at least be a FUN adventure :D. Jay and I have put in a lot of work figuring out everything to make this as smooth of a trip as possible though, so hopefully we got all our bases covered.

Trip Details

Date:

Sat, Aug 7, 2021, 10:00 AM

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Approximate Driving Time:

2 hours

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Carpool Leave By:

8:00 AM

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We may have one group arrive later to stagger out the ferrying trips. Refer to

Carpool Info⁠

for final details.

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Location Information

Overnight Parking

There will be places near the boat launch for overnight parking for a fee ($5).

Location (Boat Launch to drive to)

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Miller Boat Launch⁠

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23240 CA-1, Marshall, CA 94940

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Campground (to paddle to ~2 miles away)

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Tomales Beach Campground⁠

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Inverness, CA 94937

Plus code: 53FG+RM Inverness, California

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Point Reyes National Seashore Campground, Point Reyes National Seashore - Recreation.gov⁠

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Campsite

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Site Boat B, 7-14 People, Point Reyes National Seashore Campground - Recreation.gov⁠

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Bear Valley Visitor Center

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Bear Valley Visitor Center, Bear Valley Visitor Center Access Road, Point Reyes Station, CA⁠

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To get firewood and fire permit

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What to Expect

Weather

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https://www.usharbors.com/harbor/california/marshall-tomales-bay-ca/weather⁠

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Expected high of 70F, low of 53F - Mostly sunny, extremely low chances of rain

Food/Drinks

We plan to provide food and drinks for the whole group (lunch, dinner, breakfast), but if you prefer to bring your own, let us know so we can plan accordingly! Please let us know any food restrictions or preferences. Can send out a final menu if people want, or expect a yummy surprise! See

Meal Planning⁠

to vote on what you want. We’ll try to adjust to everyone’s preferences as best as we can, but no guarantees.

Entertainment

We'll be at a beach with a boat! There should be bioluminescence we could play with in the water at night. I'll bring some of my leftover fireworks. We'll have good food and drinks and people :) We'll try to get a bonfire, but no guarantees.