Beach at Dark Gulch
All this made me think about how many incredible beaches there are up and down the coast that are off most people’s radars. Surfers know a few of them (those with good breaks), and people who live within walking distance tend to know about them, but for the most part you’re either introduced to them by someone in the know, or they remain invisible. I’d love to do a project where I put together photos and info on the beaches of Mendocino County – including all of the big beaches, of course, but also the little gems like Dark Gulch as well.
My current list would be:
- Gualala River
- Fish Rock Beach
- Schooner Gulch Beach
- Bowling Ball Beach
- Moat Creek Beach
- Arena Cove Beach
- Manchester State Beach
- Greenwood State Beach
- Navarro River Beach Access
- Albion Flat
- Dark Gulch
- Van Damme State Park
- Mendocino Headlands State Park
- Russian Gulch State Park
- Caspar Headlands State Reserve
- Caspar State Beach
- Jug Handle State Reserve
- Noyo Harbor
- Glass Beach
- Pudding Creek Beach
- Virgin Creek Beach
- MacKerricher State Park
- Seaside Creek Beach
- Chadbourne Gulch
- Wages Creek Beach
- Westport-Union Landing State Beach
- Usal Beach
- Little Jackass Creek Beach
- Bear Harbor Beach
- Needle Rock Beach
- Jones Beach
If anyone has any that I’m missing, please let me know!
Great pictures. It would be wonderful to have directions to those beaches but would also be sad if too many people knew about them…selfish me.
I feel your list focuses on the big beaches that people would be drawn to by State Park signs. The tiny, pristine ones, such as Dark Gulch take some more local knowledge. Fortunately, as you said there are plenty of beautiful beaches along the coast to enjoy.
My family really likes Pine Beach. It’s not much of a beach – more like a cove with some rough sand and driftwood – but it has been our favorite place to go tide-pooling. They would probably be mad at me for revealing it to the greater public – even though it is public access. You should give it a look.
Cheers
Pine Beach is a great one – I always forget about it. Hare Creek, too, which I also failed to list. Keep ‘em coming!
We tried to go there with Benny after we saw you guys … found it, but could not find an easy place to stash the vehicle!
Yeah, you really do have to just park right up against the fence, just off the highway – that’s the down side to it!
The boys always go to “Blues Beach”. I am not sure if that is the name everyone uses, but it is the one where the Finn whale washed up. It is pretty huge and there are usually people there, but there are also places to hide out, and it is dog friendly.
I’m not telling…