The San Andreas Fault runs straight up Tomales Bay, and in the 1906 earthquake the land on the western side lurched several metres north in a matter of seconds. Inverness sits on that western side, on the shore of the bay, a small village of wooden houses among the trees, at the gateway to the Point Reyes peninsula. It is a quiet, slightly eccentric place, with a general store, a few restaurants and a lot of bird-watchers.
On the shore near the village, a rusting fishing boat, the Point Reyes, lies beached on the mudflats, and it has become one of the most photographed spots in Marin County, especially at sunset. Further out on the peninsula, a road lined with old cypress trees forms a tunnel leading to a historic radio station, and the lighthouse at Point Reyes, at the end of a long staircase on a windswept headland, is one of the foggiest places on the Pacific coast.
The peninsula is a national seashore, with beaches, cliffs, grassland and forest. Tule elk roam on Tomales Point, and in winter, grey whales migrate past the headlands. Tomales Bay is famous for its oysters, and the farms along the shore sell them fresh, raw or barbecued.
The riding around Point Reyes is beautiful, with Highway 1 winding along the coast and the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard crossing the peninsula. The roads are narrow and winding, with fog, wind and cattle on the road. The surface is variable, and there are few places to stop.
Fuel is limited on the peninsula, so fill up in Petaluma or before you head out. Inverness has a store and a couple of cafés, and Point Reyes Station, nearby, has a bakery and a cheese shop.