Coppertone and I intended to hike the slightly inland Bodega Dunes trails down to Bodega Head. But the going was so tough on the soft sand and we had no way of knowing for sure if we were on a trail at all. Once we got to the Bodega Dunes Day Use parking area we just jumped off onto the beach and walked along it instead.
On the beach we hiked as close to the surf as possible to take advantage of the more firm, moist sand. Though still a tiresome hike, it was far easier than the sandy inland area.
We made the most of it. We watched flocks of shorebirds follow the waves in and out of shore as they quickly hunted for food just under the sand. We righted a couple of crabs that we found on their backs on the beach. We quickly scurried farther inland when stronger waves pushed further ashore.
We had fun on the beach, but I'll give this outing a lower rating due to the hiking part itself is far from ideal. Hiking on sand is no fun. After a bit over 5 miles it felt like we had hiked more like 10!
