Mendocino Headlands State Park
No admission feeCoastal bluffs, trails, and beaches wrapped around the village of Mendocino, with a historic visitor center.

Photo: David Eppstein, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
A Mendocino Coast state park with a beach, a fern-lined canyon trail system, and a pygmy forest of dwarfed cypress and pine.
Little River, CA
Van Damme State Park sits a few miles south of Mendocino along Highway 1 and includes a sandy beach, two campgrounds, and the Fern Canyon trail network following Little River. Visitors can hike, bike, kayak, and explore a pygmy forest where stunted conifers grow on nutrient-poor soil, with a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk. The park also preserves historical resources tied to the redwood lumber industry and a former Civilian Conservation Corps recreation hall that now serves as a visitor center.
The closest stops to Van Damme State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
Coastal bluffs, trails, and beaches wrapped around the village of Mendocino, with a historic visitor center.
2.7 mi awayMore like this
Coastal park near Mendocino with a redwood canyon, a 36-foot waterfall, and sea headlands.
4.1 mi awayMore like this
A forested group camp and environmental center in the redwoods northeast of Mendocino, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
5.2 mi awayMore like this
A coastal state historic park on a Pacific headland, centered on a restored lighthouse and three original lightkeepers' houses.
5.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Largely undeveloped ocean beach on the Mendocino coast, popular for spotting whales and for fishing.
6.7 mi awayMore like this
Historic excursion railroad running through redwood forest and along the Noyo River canyon from Fort Bragg.
Transit: reachable by public transit
12 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours