A 1,100-acre tidal lagoon along Highway 1 between Stinson Beach and Bolinas, designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. Great blue herons, great egrets, and harbor seals are commonly visible from the highway pullouts. The lagoon drains almost completely at low tide, revealing extensive mudflats and eelgrass beds.
Photography Guide
Best Time
morning
Crowds
Quiet
Shot Types
widelandscapereflectionportrait
Best Seasons
winterspringfall
Practical Tips
Several pullouts along Highway 1 provide easy roadside viewing. The Audubon Canyon Ranch overlook on the east shore is excellent for great blue heron colony viewing (March-July). Bring a long telephoto lens for wildlife.
Is it a good day to go?
7-day outlook
Mild, dry days with light winds are the most comfortable for a visit.
Forecast by Open-Meteo. Verdicts weigh the forecast against the conditions that suit this spot.
Gallery
A coyote stands in tall marsh grass at the edge of Bolinas Lagoon, with calm blue water and a dense stand of reeds behind it. Soft morning light highlights the animal’s fur and the wetland shoreline. Photo: Nathan Forget / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0Several small boats float on calm Bolinas Lagoon beside a weathered wooden building on stilts, with Mt. Tamalpais rising in soft light beyond the water. The scene has a quiet morning feel, with scattered clouds and gentle reflections on the lagoon. Photo: Stephen Sommerhalter / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0Wide view across Bolinas Lagoon shows blue water curving around pale sandbars and exposed tidal flats, with steep green hills and dark forest rising in the background. The morning light highlights the bright shoreline and the layered slopes beyond. Photo: Steve Hedin / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0Green shrubs and a bare tree frame a calm tidal lagoon, with low wooded hills rising across the water under a clear blue morning sky. The water surface is lightly rippled, and a pale strip of shoreline and mudflat shows along the far edge. Photo: Stepheng3 / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainLow tide reveals the edge of Bolinas Lagoon, with shallow blue-gray water, muddy patches, and bright green eelgrass along the shore. Sunlit hills and tree-covered bluffs curve around the lagoon under a clear morning sky. Photo: Stepheng3 (talk) / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainA wide view of Bolinas Lagoon at low tide, with broad blue-green mudflats stretching across the middle of the frame and dry, tan hills rising behind. In the foreground, a narrow channel runs past a small cluster of homes and trees under clear morning light. Photo: California Department of Fish and Wildlife from Sacramento, CA, USA / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0Aerial view of Bolinas Lagoon at low tide, with broad mudflats and winding tidal channels beside a narrow barrier beach and the blue Pacific. Green hills and scattered coastal homes surround the lagoon under clear morning light. Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified or unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainSoft morning light glows across the tidal lagoon, with a bright golden reflection stretching over smooth water. Dark mudflats and winding tidal channels cut through the foreground beneath a streaked, hazy sky. Photo: Dicklyon / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0Historic waterfront homes and small wooden buildings line Wharf Road beside the Bolinas Lagoon, with their reflections sitting in the calm tidal water. Low tide exposes broad mudflats and a curving channel, while the wooded hillside rises steeply behind the village. Photo: Edgar A. Cohen / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainSoft pink and gold morning light glows over a calm tidal lagoon, with the sun reflected in the still water beneath a row of weathered wooden pilings. A small dock and boat sit near the right side, while hazy hills fade into the distance under a misty sky. Photo: Maurizio Fecchio / Pexels
