At first glance you may think this beach is covered with glass that has gathered there for eons. Not so. For centuries it was a common practice of people who lived in seaside cities to dump their trash into the ocean, and from the turn of the century through 1967 it was true of people in Fort Bragg as well. In 1967 the practice came to a halt, however, and the coastal dumps (three of them in Fort Bragg) were cleaned up. Perhaps by way of thanks, the ocean responded by washing up beautiful multicolored pieces of wave-tumbled glass from those very dumps onto the beach.
Today you will find a beach of polished glass in MacKerricher State Park that is very safe to walk on. All along that shore there are different shapes, sizes and colors of glass glistening on the sand, hence the name Glass Beach. This is a fantastic place to bring the family to wander. There are also plenty of tide pools to wade through and see crabs, mollusks and aquatic plants. However, collecting glass on the beach is prohibited since California State Parks took possession several years ago, so please leave these treasures for the next visitors.
Glass Beach is one of many diving locations for Sub-Surface Progression.
WHERE: You can find the beach at the end of Elm Street; signs on Main Street point the way to a parking area and paths leading to the beach.
MORE INFO: FortBragg.com
