Category: State Parks

Russian Gulch State Park has two attractions that you don’t want to miss in Mendocino. First one is the easy Fern Canyon Trail to the 36ft waterfall and the second one is the arched Highway 1 bridge beach.

The drive to Portola Redwoods State Park requires a lot of patience and alert driving but is worth it if you are looking for some solitude among the trees. The road to get to this park is narrow and winding and you may experience some entertainment on the way there.

The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park is a woody state park in Santa Cruz county. It is named after the matriarch of the Marks family from Salinas who donated to the land to become a state park. There are many trails to explore here but I could only choose one: the Old Growth trail to see the Advocate Tree.

Castro Adobe SHP in Watsonville is one of the last adobe houses left standing in California. It is gradually being brought back to life by Friends of the Santa Cruz State Parks and California State Parks. I visited during an open house event when guided tours were happening.

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is located right off Highway 1 and is a popular place for camping and hiking. There is no access to the beaches and they charge $2 if you want a map. Alternatively, there is a large map near the parking area that most people take a picture of with their phones. Because of the fire, the Big Sur area still has some closed trails.

Elephant seals are the star attraction at Año Nuevo State Park, especially during the winter months. Compared to other seal species, elephant seals got a large, long nose almost like a elephant trunk. From Dec 15 to March 31, there are guided elephant seal walks for the price of around $11 per ticket.

I don’t have a boat, but I have a friend that does! We took off at Rivers End Marina & RV where it was $10 to launch. We headed to Franks Tract State Recreation Area which is a nice area to do year-round tubing, fishing, swimming, camping and picnicking.