Fort Bragg’s newest park is situated atop the bluffs overlooking Fort Bragg’s dramatic, rocky Pacific shore. Its northern section was opened in 2015, extending the Pacific Coast Trail from Pudding Creek at the northern end of town down to Otsuchi Point. It includes a stairway down the bluffs to Glass Beach. In 2016, the southern section of the park was opened. It comprises 2.3 … [Read more...]
#9 – Schooner Gulch State Beach & Bowling Ball Beach
Local lore has it that Schooner Gulch got its name back in the era of sailing ships when a mysterious schooner ran aground there at dusk one evening, only to have vanished without a trace by the following morning. Today, Schooner Gulch State Beach offers its visitors not only great fun and exciting activities, but also some of the most magnificent views anywhere. Spend the day … [Read more...]
#15 – Greenwood Creek State Beach
Just south of the small town of Elk you’ll find picturesque Greenwood Creek State Beach. Here you can soak up the sun, go swimming or have a picnic lunch on the coast. It’s also a wonderful place to go for a stroll and watch the sunset any time of year. Greenwood, the old name for Elk, was a lumber town in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today the Greenwood State Beach Visitor … [Read more...]
#13 – Manchester State Park
Manchester State Park, with nearly 18,000 feet of ocean shoreline, offers a beach with an abundance of driftwood, sand dunes and rich grasslands. A beautiful sandy beach runs southward for about 5 miles towards Point Arena. Among its many attractions is the excellent steelhead fishing in its two streams, Brush Creek and Alder Creek. Please check with the Department of Fish and … [Read more...]
#26 – Annual Whale Migration, Whale Festival
The annual migration of California gray whales takes them from their feeding grounds in the cold waters of the Bering Sea near Alaska to the warm waters off Baja California, Mexico, and back. Their young, called calves, are born in the protected lagoons of western Baja, and do not begin their trek northwards until they are about a month old. Unlike other whale species, … [Read more...]
#29 – Mendocino Headlands Park
When visiting the town of Mendocino, take some time to see Mendocino Headlands State Park. The park surrounds the town on three sides with delightful expanses of land perched atop stunning bluffs. From there you can enjoy whale-watching in the winter, wildflowers in the spring, nesting seabirds in the summer and vivid color throughout autumn. Miles of trails wind along the … [Read more...]
#27 – Van Damme State Park
Fantastic outdoor fun and delightful scenery await you at Van Damme State Park, where you can enjoy hiking, camping, fishing and abalone diving among other recreational activities. The park straddles Hwy 1 where Little River empties into a protected rocky bay that is very popular with divers and kayakers. The surf here is usually calm enough to allow launching boats and sea … [Read more...]
#17 – Point Cabrillo Lighthouse & Preserve
The demand for lumber to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake meant that maritime commerce on the north coast was at an all time high, and a lighthouse was critical to the safety of the ships and their valuable cargo. Construction of the Point Cabrillo Light Station began in 1908, and its lens, a British-build Fresnel lens, was illuminated for the first time in 1909. … [Read more...]