Migrating California Gray whales, numbering between 18,000–23,000 individuals, pass by the Mendocino coast twice each year. Here are several ways you can check out the whales and other wildlife along the Mendocino Coast, thanks to State Parks.
FIRST DAY WALKS: California State Parks announces guided interpretive hikes at 4 state parks along the Mendocino Coast on January 1, 2012. These hikes are part of a nationwide effort of special hikes on New Years Day in state parks in all 50 states. This will promote state parks and participation in healthy activities. All of these hikes will take place on California’s North Coast in wintertime. Be prepared for cool temperatures.
WALK #1: Westport-Union Landing State Beach. Meet the docent at 1:00 p.m. at the park headquarters building at park main entrance, just west of Hwy 1. The park is located about 19 miles north of Fort Bragg, California on Hwy 1. This will be a 1 mile long moderate hike. This hike is suggested for children 8 years and older, and adults. Learn fun facts about the once bustling town of Westport from local resident Steve Brigham.
WALK #2: MacKerricher State Park. Meet the docent at 10:00 a.m. at the Laguna Point parking lot, from Mill Creek Road, three miles north of Fort Bragg, California, west of Hwy 1. This will be an easy three-quarter-mile walk along a boardwalk. This short walk will be filled with fun facts about MacKerricher State Park as you walk to an overlook above the ocean. Park Naturalist Teresa Hurray will lead this walk. The walk is suggested for children 12 years and older, and adults.
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He’s simply known on California’s Mendocino Coast as Al B. Tross — “Al” for short. And he’s back at Point Arena Cove for the 14th straight year.
Our weather has been spectacular lately, and so Bruce and I decided to go check out the Stornetta Ranch Preserve near Point Arena yesterday. It’s a good thing, too, because the fog was back today. The Preserve was donated to the BLM only two years ago, and you can even still find the, uh, remnants of the dairy cattle along the way. It’s easy to get there, since it’s just a couple of miles north of the city of Point Arena. Turn off Highway One onto Lighthouse Road, and go west for 1.4 miles. As the road approaches the ocean, it veers around to the right. At this point, there’s a turnout on the left for the Preserve. Pass through the turnstile, and head off to the south. You’re about at the middle of the 1200-acre preserve when you enter it of Lighthouse Road. You’ll find coastal headlands with scrub pines, and a beautiful coastline with islands and sea stacks. The coastline is very interesting, too, with many patterns in the sandstone. (It’s less than ten miles to the geological oddities of Bowling Ball Beach.)
The big island just off the coast has a wonderful arch, and it’s covered with black cormorants. As you continue to the south, you’ll find wide rocky beaches that are perfect for abalone divers. We even passed by a sinkhole, about 30 feet across and 15 feet deep, set a hundred feet back from the edge of the cliff. We continued on to the south, because we had a goal in mind: the waterfall that drops into the ocean. The waterfall is at the south end of the preserve, next to the old Coast Guard LORAN station.