Bodega Bay is located on the Pacific Coast in Southwest Sonoma County. It is the gateway to the Sonoma Coast State Beach to the North, a 16 mile stretch of mostly undeveloped coastline with frequent beach access. To the South lies Tomales Bay and the Point Reyes National Seashore. Just inland, sparsely populated rolling hills are dotted with sheep and cattle ranches. The coastal hills give way to valleys where a variety of agricultural crops are grown including Sebastopol's famed Gravenstein apples and the fine wine grapes of the Russian River valley.

Although it is definitely rural in character, Bodega Bay is on the Western edge of rapidly growing Sonoma County with a population of 472,700 (in 2004). Bodega Bay is not far from Sonoma County population centers and within easy reach of Northern California's major urban areas: