Doran Regional Park camping is a beautiful way to celebrate a 7th wedding anniversary.
We were gifted with more equipment to fill out our camping and backpacking supplies throughout Christmas and my birthday, and it was time to test everything out before the summer.
We camped at the Miwok Campground tent campsite area in Doran Regional Park, one of the three campground areas from which you can reserve individual sites. The other two campground loops include the ability to drive up to your camp with a car or trailer/RV.
Doran Regional Park and Doran Beach are dog friendly, and Doran Regional Park charges a $2 fee per night per dog for overnight campers.
A First-Time Experience: Doran Regional Park Camping
The Doran Regional Park sits on the Doran Spit, where you can enjoy Doran Beach, overnight camping, or day-use spots with picnic benches and park grills.
At the Miwok Campground, you can have up to eight people in a single campsite, and most sites offer locations for multiple tents. There is a great parking lot where you can park your car, and you walk into all Miwok Campground sites to tent camp without the ability to pull your vehicle up to your exact site location. Luckily, the Sonoma County Regional Parks website allows for easy booking of campsites and shows pictures and maps of each site so you can get an idea of what you’re reserving without having first visited. Some of the Miwok Campground sites are only feet away from the parking lot, and some are couple dozen yards off. Not a very far walk to any of the tent-only offerings at the Miwok Campground.
We made our camp at site G at the Miwok Campground, which was one of the closest sites to the beach and offered a more secluded wraparound of trees and bushes to separate you more from other campsites.
In the parking lot of Miwok Campground at Doran Regional Park are bathrooms, a water spigot, and showers available for $2 per five-minute use. This combination of tent camping and amenities provides a great location to test your beach or hiking equipment.
Although windy at almost all times, Doran Regional Park camping is the windiest in the summer months. During our visit, the wind was heaviest in the afternoon and died down at night. In the evenings, while camping at Doran Regional Park, it’s fun to walk Doran Beach and down to the jetty where fishermen and women reel in crabs and other marine delicacies.
Birdwalk Coastal Access Trail
The Birdwalk Coastal Access Trail is a great place to bring a pair of binoculars and scout for birds. You can access the birding trail area from the Bay Highway or a parking lot inside Doran Regional Park, and you can walk Cheney Creek Trail to get to the Birdwalk Coastal Access Trail. I loved seeing the many egrets hunting for prey amongst the surface ponds along the trail.
Dogs are requested to be on a leash at the Birdwalk Coastal Access Trail in Bodega Bay.
Filming Locations for “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock
At the end of our camping trip we drove around Bodega Bay past where the Brenner House in “The Birds” once stood. The Brenner house in “The Birds” was located on Westshore Rd at Gaffney Point, out on Bodega Bay at the driveway entrance for the University of California Marine Laboratory housing buildings. You’ll notice the old-growth cedar trees to your right on Westshore Rd as you pass the driveway on your way to Bodega Head.
It’s about a 15-minute drive from Doran Regional Park to Bodega Head, Bodega Bay Trailhead, and Bodega Head Trail. Bodega Head protects the village of Bodega Bay and harbors from intense storms coming from the north.
We didn’t have a the chance to see the schoolhouse from “The Birds,” but that’s located up the hill from Bodega Bay in the hamlet of Bodega. You can get to Bodega by driving up the Bodega Highway off Highway 1, and the schoolhouse used in filming is the Potter School House. The schoolhouse is a private residence owned by a family, so be respectful when taking photos outside the property, and don’t cross the fence or enter the grounds.
After seeing the location of the Brenner House, we continued down Westshore Rd until it dead-ended at the Hole in the Head at Bodega Head. The Hole in the Head across from Campbell Cove Beach is where PG&E was once going to build a nuclear power plant but stopped building due to proximity to the San Andreas fault. Now, it’s a small lake for viewing and ecological life and serves as a reminder of history’s changing paths. There’s a bathroom at the Campbell Cove Beach and Hole in the Head parking lot.
Dogs aren’t allowed on the Bodega Head Trails we saw, so we turned back since our Pomeranian was with us.
Eating at Spud Point Crab Company
On the way back to Bodega Bay from Bodega Head, we stopped at Spud Point Crab Company out on Spud Point. Tony and Carol Anello opened the joint in 2004 and are known far and wide for their famous clam chowder, crab sandwiches, and crab cakes. Their crab is fished right beyond Bodega Bay by their own family. Crab cakes are only offered on weekends after 1 pm, so we split a crab sandwich, and each had a cup of New England clam chowder.
To keep you nourished while journeying down the road, you can also order a whole loaf of French Bread from Franco-American Bakery in Santa Rosa. Butter pads are also provided.
Spud Point Crab Company also offers Manhattan-style clam chowder, but I’m a sucker for creamy New England clam chowder. After trying so many different chowders in my life, I must say, this may be my absolute winning favorite. Splash Cafe in Pismo Beach has some pretty darn delicious clam chowder, but Spud Point Crab Company’s extra use of garlic edged it out as a personal favorite.
You can also order shrimp, prawn and crab cocktails with cocktail sauce and lemon.
Non-street parking can be challenging to find for Spud Point Crab Company, but if you’re willing to walk a short distance, there are plenty of spaces at the Spud Point Marina parking lot south of Spud Point Crab Company. Make sure to stop at the Commercial Fisherman Memorial statue on your walk and pay tribute to those who bring us all our beloved, fresh seafood!
Other Things to Do at Bodega Bay
After eating our fill of crab and chowder, we decided to visit a few shops. Second Hand Kite Shop and Toys is where we purchased a few gifts for the nephews, including a pocket kite, saltwater taffy, and other trinkets. There was a beautiful display of kites outside that drew us inside, and inside you’ll find a wide assortment of kites to use throughout Bodega Bay, with many windy spots to fly to your heart’s content.
Another Bodega Bay destination I wanted to see was the Children’s Bell Tower, but I didn’t have time. It’s at the access point for the Coastal Prairie Trail and stands as a monument to Nicholas Green. Nicholas Green was a seven-year-old boy from Bodega bay who was shot while in Italy in 1994 by highway robbers. Nicholas’ parents donated his organs to seven Italians, and the bells were donated by Italian families, schools, and churches to show their appreciation and honor Nicholas Green’s life. Pope John Paul II blessed the bell tower after the Marinelli Foundry constructed its centerpiece.
From Doran Regional Park Camping to a Cup of Chowder
If you are trying to find a quaint, coastal fishing town with idyllic views and things to do in honor of a masterpiece of horror cinema, then Bodega Bay is the place for you. From Doran Regional Park camping to a memorable cup of chowder, you’re bound to experience something new with every visit. I can’t wait to get back myself with my husband and explore some more!
