Dancing Coyote Beach

Activities

• Tomales Bay is one of the best places in Marin for kayaking; you can hire them nearby. Friends have been nocturnal kayaking and say it is magical for the phosphorence
  
  
• Hang out at the beach - you have plenty to choose from on the peninsula, from the private one attached to the cottages, to Hearts Desire just up the road on Tomales Bay, to the windswept kilometres of sandy beaches on the Pacific coast. We like Limantour, which has coastal trails and a lagoon, on Drakes Bay. You can paddle in sheltered waters but be warned it may be too cold for swimming
  
  
• The birding is excellent here: waterfowl of all kinds on Tomales Bay (from Osprey to Oystercatcher), and on the Pacific coast we saw Northern Harriet and Red-winged Blackbird (we really enjoyed our walk to Abbotts Lagoon). You can easily birdwatch from your private deck over the tidal mudflats of the bay
  
  
• Technically Point Reyes Peninsula is not part of the US as it is a separate tectonic plate, so expect differing vegetation from the different soils - look out for Coastal Douglas-Fir and Bishop Pine
  
  
• The hiking is excellent all over the peninsula with 147 miles of trails along cliff and beach, through grasslands, marshes and forests. Bear Valley has a network of trails including a short Earthquake Trail along the San Andreas Fault; you can see where the fence jumped 5.5m in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. The Visitors Centre has helpful rangers and a diorama of local wildlife
  
  
• Keen birders will want to visit Audubon Canyon Ranch on Bolinas Lagoon to the south of the peninsula where you can sight Herons and Egrets nesting in spring
  
  
• Go horse riding in nearby Olema
  
  
• The Inverness Yacht Club is immediately north of the cottages
  
  
• Drive up to the (windy) lighthouse for spectacular views along the coast and a chance to glimpse Gray Whale in season (Dec-March)
  
  
• Other wildlife to see include the rare Tule Elk only found in California, Elephant Seal and migratory Monarch Butterfly
  
  
• Marin County is where they invented mountain biking and bicycles can be rented nearby
  
  
• Take a gourmet tour in Point Reyes Station, which has great restaurants, artisanal foodstuffs, and a great Saturday farmers' market