Boating on the North Coast: Harbors, Bars and Launch Ramps

The North Coast stretches from Pillar Point at Half Moon Bay past Bodega Bay and Tomales Bay to Fort Bragg, Humboldt Bay and Crescent City near the Oregon line. Most harbors are working fishing ports, and many ocean trips start with a bar crossing.

Where to launch

• Pillar Point Harbor: six lanes and four boarding floats.
• Westside Regional Park Boat Launch: three lanes on Bodega Harbor, open 5:30 a.m. to sunset.
• Miller Boat Launch: two lanes and a dock on Tomales Bay, free parking.
• Noyo Harbor: a public launch south of the harbor bridge.
• Eureka Public Marina: two lanes, about 18 trailer spaces.
• Trinidad Harbor: a marine railway for small craft up to 25 feet long and 8½ feet wide.
• Shelter Cove Boat Launch: an open-ocean launch for boats of about 14 to 36 feet.

Harbors and marinas

At Bodega Bay Harbor, Spud Point Marina sells gas and diesel, has a free pump-out and a guest dock; hail it on VHF 16 and finish fueling by 3:30 p.m. Pillar Point has a fuel dock but takes no guest reservations, so be ready to anchor out. Noyo requires reservations for guest berths and keeps a 3-knot basin limit. On Humboldt Bay, Woodley Island Marina has 237 slips and a two-hour guest tie-up at D-23; call on VHF 14 before docking. Crescent City Harbor has 240 slips in its tsunami-resistant Inner Boat Basin, plus fuel and haul-out.

Bar crossings and entrance hazards

Under 33 CFR 165.1196, the entrances at Humboldt Bay, Noyo and Crescent City are Coast Guard Regulated Navigation Areas. The Coast Guard may impose a bar restriction, barring recreational, uninspected passenger, small passenger and commercial fishing vessels, or a bar closure for all vessels. Both are announced by Broadcast Notice to Mariners on VHF 16 and 22A. When crossing during a restriction or under Coast Guard escort, everyone in unenclosed areas of a recreational vessel must wear a lifejacket.

• Humboldt Bay: the bar is always more dangerous on an outgoing tide. Get a bar report from the Coast Guard at (707) 443-2212 or on VHF 22A.
• Noyo: hazardous bar conditions are common, and heavy west or southwest swells build breakers across the mouth.
• Tomales Bay: the entrance bar is dangerous and should not be attempted by strangers. A 6-knot current may run on spring tides, the shallow bar frequently gets rough, and breakers can appear suddenly even in a calm sea.
• Pillar Point: rocks and reefs, marked by kelp and a lighted bell buoy, extend more than a mile southeast of Pillar Point, and Southeast Reef has a pinnacle rock awash at extreme low water.
• Bodega Bay: the channel shoals between dredgings, so time your entry with the tide.

Tomales Bay

Tomales Bay suits skiffs, crabbers and paddlers. Personal watercraft and hunting aren't allowed, Pelican Point, Duck Island and the east side of Hog Island are closed year-round, and boat-in camping needs a Recreation.gov permit.

Rules every boater should know here

The California Boater Card is required for all operators of motorized vessels since January 1, 2025 (see the Boater Card guide); see also the speed and wake laws guide. Noyo's mooring basin bans fueling and the discharge of human waste, fish parts, garbage or refuse.

Conditions and seasons

Fog is common. Trinidad and Shelter Cove are sheltered from northwesterlies, but Trinidad is dangerous in west or south weather and Shelter Cove in south or southeast winds.

Boat services in the region

Slip boats typically need diver hull cleaning and engine service; trailer boaters need freshwater washdowns and sometimes prop repair.