I've visited Bowling Ball Beach five times and I've still yet to get what I consider an excellent shot. I've gotten rained on, scraped up, contracted poison oak, and was once traumatized by accidentally stepping on a deceased sea lion (a story for another time). It is a challenging location but worth the effort - and so - I continue to go back. Below is what I have learned about this location, along with photos I captured during my visits. 

Note: if you hover over any photo, you will see the date, time of day, and tide details. Click on any photo to go to the gallery. 

Bowling Ball BeachSunrise (Cloudy) April 25, 2015
3.9 foot, receding tide

What is Bowling Ball Beach?

Bowling Bowl Beach is a unique and photogenic wonder on the Northern California coastline, featuring large rounded sandstone concretions that resemble bowling balls. 

• The entry fee is $0
• There is no restroom at the trail head. Go before you head out. 
• There is no cell phone reception in the area. 
• There is a roughly 1/4 mile trail that leads to beach access, then an easy-moderate scramble down to the beach. 

Bowling Ball BeachSunset, January 5, 2011 -0.3 foot, receding tide

Bowling Ball BeachSunset (Overcast) April 25, 2013 3.4 foot, rising tide

When is a good time to visit?

This beach can be visited any time of year. Summer can be foggy, so Autumn, Winter, and Spring are better options for reliable sunsets. As with any Pacific Coast location, sunset is the ideal time for photography, but I have photographed here at sunrise as well. Overcast days are good if you want to capture details shots of the "bowling balls" using long shutter speeds. 

Tide is key for photographing the "bowling balls". If the tide is too high, you won't see them. If it is too low, you won't get any waves swirling around them. Each photo in this blog post includes the date, tide, and whether the tide was rising to receding to give you an idea of what to expect (hover over or click on).  

I use WillyWeather Tides to determine what the tide will be at a certain time of day. 

Bowling Ball BeachSunrise (Cloudy) April 25, 2015 3.9 foot, receding tide

Where is this park?

Bowling Bowl Beach is located on the Northern California coast, on Highway 1, five miles south of Point Arena. There is no formal parking area, just a wide dirt pullout on the west side of the road. You are not allowed to park facing north, so if you are traveling north, you will want to turn around at Schooner Gulch Road (on the right) then park facing south.

There are two trails from this lot, the trail on the north side of the pullout leads to Bowling Ball Beach. The trail travels due west to the edge of the bluff then starts to descend as you turn north. There used to be a set of stairs leading down to the beach, but they were washed out in a storm so from here, you have to scramble down to the beach. You will also need to cross Galloway Creek, but in the times I have visited, I was able to jump it without getting my shoes wet. From here, just walk north until you see the bowling balls, maybe another 1/4-1/3 mile. 

Bowling Ball Beach panoramaSunset (Overcast) April 25, 2013 3.4 foot, rising tide

Why should I visit?

First and foremost, the uniqueness. I love photographing the coast and am always looking for something different. There is no other location like this along the Pacific coastline that I have found. Second, this beach hasn't yet been inundated with people trying to take selfies of themselves with the rocks, so it's a fairly peaceful location to photograph. 

Bowling Ball BeachSunrise (Cloudy) April 25, 2015 3.9 foot, receding tide

I hope you enjoyed this post!