Mendocino State Parks & Beaches

Navarro River Redwoods State Park -- After winding over rolling hills and through the Anderson Valley, motorists traveling along Highway 128 suddenly enter an eleven-mile-long redwood tunnel to the sea. The redwood forest along the Navarro River is a magnificent sight.

Van Damme State Park -- Of all park system units along the Mendocino coast, Van Damme is perhaps the richest in terms of historical resources connected with the redwood lumber industry.

Big River State Park -- Big River wasn’t named for its length or breadth, but for the size of the redwoods that once grew along the banks. Big (second-growth) redwoods and a big estuary are among the compelling natural attractions of Big River State Park, a big (7,334 acres) unit added to California’s park system in 2002.

Mendocino Headlands State Park -- The park features grass-covered headlands and a beach, with access from the mouth of the Big River south of town.

Russian Gulch State Park -- This park is known for the heavily forested Russian Gulch Creek Canyon, a headland that features the Devil’s Punch Bowl (a large, collapsed sea cave with churning water), and a beach that offers swimming, tide pool exploring, skin diving and rock fishing. Inland, there is a 36-foot high waterfall.

Jug Handle -- Jug Handle State Reserve is a special place. Few places on earth display a more complete record of ecological succession. The heart of the park consists of a strip of land roughly one mile wide enclosing a set of five terraces resembling a staircase. The Ecological Staircase trail takes the visitor on a tour of the geological updrift from the coast to the Pygmy Forest two and a half miles inland.

Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve -- Montgomery Woods State Reserve, in the heart of the Coast Range, has redwoods, where visitors can walk along one of the park’s many trails. It is an excellent example of both a magnificent coastal redwood grove and a beautiful fern forest.

MacKerricher State Park -- MacKerricher State Park offers a variety of habitats; beach, bluff, headland, dune, forest and wetland. Tidepools are along the shore. Seals live on the rocks off the park’s Mendocino coast.

Learn about other Mendocino activities nearby our Mendocino bed & breakfast.