Published November 17, 2015

A trip up to Hog Island Oyster Company on Tomales Bay is one of my all time favorite day trips from San Francisco.

There are two main routes (check them out on Google Maps here) that you can take up to Tomales Bay with the final destination being Hog Island Oyster Company.

It’s about an hour and 45 minute drive from SF and if the weather is nice (which it usually is) it’s a really beautiful drive and an amazing destination.

If you choose to go up the 1, the scenery will be spectacular as you’re driving up the coastline. But beware that these roads are extremely curvy, and if you get car sick, this is NOT the way to go.  You’ll also still see amazing scenery along part of your drive if you go up mostly on the 101.

If you’re making a day of it, and interested in spending some time at the beach, you can stop at Millerton Point.

Once you arrive at Hog Island Oyster Company, you’ll find a bunch of picnic tables in the back.  Half of these tables are for reservations only and half are for walk-ins. If you reserve a table, you can bring a whole group of people (and pay $5 a head) and picnic/bbq for your entire reservation time. They allow you to shuck your own oysters at these tables and bring outside food.

If you sit at a walk in table, you won’t be allowed to bring in outside food, but you can buy trays of shucked and bbq oysters. All of their oysters are amazing but their BBQ oysters w/Chipotle Butter sauce are SERIOUSLY AMAZING. IF oysters aren’t your thing, there are a small number of other items on the menu like cheese plates and salads. Beer/Wine/Non-alcoholic beverages are also on the menu.  Try the cowgirl creamery Mt. Tam cheese if you’re looking for additional snacks or food options. It’s an incredibly creamy local cheese that’s produced by all the cows you saw on the drive up to Tomales Bay.

There are a few other oyster farms on Tomales Bay but Hog Island is the one that I continue to come back to as I think it has the best views and best oyster/food options!

When you leave Hog Island Oyster Company, you can also drive North and back to the 101 via Petaluma.  You’ll see amazing farm countryside, and Nick’s Cove is a gorgeous dock to stop off at especially for Sundowners.

The cow farms, hillsides, and estuaries all along Tomales Petaluma Road are gorgeous and make for a really beautiful & scenic ride at all times of year.

Reserve a table and shuck oysters all day!