Beach · Point Reyes National Seashore
400-foot Tomales Bay strand most visitors reach by small watercraft
Overview
This is a short, 400-foot beach on the west side of Tomales Bay, in the northern part of the national seashore. Visitors describe it as relaxing, beautiful, and relatively quiet, and the walk in as worth the effort. Most people arrive by water, so the scene is often paddlers pulling kayaks and canoes onto the sand, with primitive campsites tucked toward the far end.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stopMap
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Point Reyes Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Point Reyes National Seashore. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this area
Kehoe Beach“You're nearing Kehoe Beach Trailhead, where a short path beside the marsh crosses a dune to a wide Pacific beach. The walk is about one point two miles round trip, with loose sand at the end.”
Plays on the road 1.5 mi from Marshall Beach in the Parkwolf Point Reyes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Most visitors come by kayak, canoe, paddle board, or small motorboat. Personal watercraft are prohibited on Tomales Bay. Check tide predictions before you launch and plan around fluctuating tides and boating conditions, since your landing and departure both depend on them.
The Marshall Beach Trail runs 1.2 miles (1.9 km) to the beach and descends about 350 feet (105 m), for a 2.4-mile (3.8 km) round trip. The trailhead is reached by vehicle on L Ranch Road, a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) gravel road off Pierce Point Road. The trail is day use only. Bikes and horses or pack animals are allowed on it; pets are not.
There are primitive campsites at the beach, but overnight stays require a valid permit and you must arrive by boat, kayak, canoe, or another permitted small watercraft. Hiking in to camp is prohibited, so if you walk the trail, plan on a day trip and head back out the same way.
The beach is small, and getting there takes commitment either way: a gravel road plus a climb of about 350 feet on the return hike, or a watercraft trip that depends on tides. One recent visitor noted wind exposure, so bring a layer. There is no vehicle access to the sand itself, and hikers cannot turn the trip into an overnight.
Wildlife
2,552 sightingsNorthern Elephant SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
127 sightingsGrey WhaleMost seen around noonSighting map
109 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
29 sightingsSteller Sea LionMost seen around noonSighting map
203 sightingsCalifornia Sea LionMost seen around noonSighting map
352 sightingsHarbor SealMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Point Reyes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateMarshall Beach Trail2.4 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.6 mi awayA ranch road drops through pasture to a small Tomales Bay cove.
EasyKehoe Beach Trail1.2 mi · 1 hr · 1.5 mi awayA short dune crossing leads to a wild, surf-washed beach.
ChallengingTomales Point Trail9.5 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayWalk a wild elk ridge to the Pacific end of the peninsula.
EasyAbbotts Lagoon Trail2.8 mi · 1.3 hr · 2.9 mi awayThree lagoons, a footbridge, and a sandy finish at Great Beach.
ModerateMcClures Beach Trail0.8 mi · 45 min · 3 mi awayA sandy ravine descent to a cove of surf and sea stacks.
Beach · 0.9 mi awayTomales BeachKayak-in camp beach with vault toilets, so no wag bag needed
Beach · 1.9 mi awayKehoe BeachShort dune walk to a wide, wind-scoured surf beach
Sight · 2.9 mi awayPierce Point RanchWeathered 1858 dairy ranch you can wander, high above Tomales Bay
Beach · 3.2 mi awayMcClures BeachSteep sandy path drops to a wild cove between rocky headlands
Sight · 3.6 mi awayAbbotts LagoonFlat walk past coastal lagoons and dunes to a wild ocean beach
Sight · 4.8 mi awayHistoric Life-Saving Service CemeteryFour surfmen's graves behind a white picket fence in eucalyptus
Sight · 4.9 mi awayHistoric KPH Maritime Radio Receiving StationRestored Morse code station at the end of a cypress tunnelParkwolf’s Point Reyes ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
