Bodega Bay’s downtown, houses, restaurants, hotels and shops, along busy Hwy 1, is not made for strolling. But on the west side, a peninsula resembling a crooked finger juts out to sea at Bodega Head, forming the entrance to Bodega Harbor, one of the North Bay’s premier fishing and crabbing spots.
This is your chance to get out and try your hand at catching ling cod, rock cod, king salmon and Dungeness crab. We like Reel Magic Sport Fishing Charters (reelmagicsportfishingcharters.net) and Bodega Bay Sportfishing Center (bodegabaysportfishing.com). You can also go whale-watching from here with Bodega Bay Whale Charters (bodegabaywhalecharters.com).
Celebrate it all at Bodega Bay Fishermen’s Festival (bbfishfest.org) in May. If you want to get into the water, easygoing one-stop-shop Bodega Bay Surf Shack (bodegabaysurf.com) has all kinds of equipment rentals, including SUPs and kayaks, lessons and good local information. It also rents bikes for landlubbers.
Also on the peninsula, Bodega Marine Laboratory & Reserve (marinescience.ucdavis.edu), run by UC Davis, has docent-led tours on Friday afternoons (reserve).