This was a cute little place to stop and take pictures at we really enjoyed the view. It is very…read moresketchy to go down into the beach area and we almost fell a few times. There is a lot of different people around all over the place taking pictures. Overall definitely a nice rest stop. Idk if I'd go out of my way to visit though but it's cool to have come once.

A few miles south on Hwy 1 from Pt. Arena. Takes a few minutes to get there, park at the beach sign…read more(heading south) AND make sure to look for the trail head to the North side on that lot. Get there 30 mins, or an hour BEFORE LOW TIDE, walk down the trail (Be Careful) and watch the tide head out- you'll see the massive Bowling Balls. Keep track of the tides, Be safe.

This place has great coast views! Camping is quiet and without amenities! Sites are spread out! No…read morehost on site! Self register and $35 overnight! Great sunset from my site! Must drive or it's a very long hike to the beach! I can also see the Point Arena lighthouse from my site! Overall good camping for the price! I would give it a five stars if it had power hookups!

Service was great and staff was friendly. I will definitely be back. I am looking forward to coming…read moreback.

Diamond in the Bluff…read more Nice coastal trail located about one-mile south of DT Point Arena along Hwy 1. Keep an eye out for a sign that says "coastal viewpoint," as the parking lot isn't specifically mentioned. The Good: *Amazing views of the coastline and bluffs *Entire trail is an easy 3¼miles from start-to-finish *Dirt trails are in pretty good shape w/ minimal poison oak *Free parking The Meh: *Small parking lot with officially four parking spots and one handicapped spot--which doesn't make sense because the trails aren't really handicap accessible, but I digress... The Ugly: *The first 1/2mile heading north in the Pelican Bluffs Trail is noisy and far from serene as you parallel the freeway until you start to turn west. You can avoid this and cut right to the chase by taking the "return" trail and go directly west to the Blufftop Trail. TLDR: Nice trail with amazing views and worth a trip if you're staying in the area and looking for a quick hike, but not worth seeking out as a destination hike.

One of my favorite Coastal Walks…read more Pelican Bluffs is a great little loop (~2.5 miles round trip if you do the full loop) that is dog-friendly with a small, shady parking lot just off highway one. This trail provides epic views. For those will limited mobility, or injured knees, there is a flat option that provides gorgeous views along the meadow a top the bluff. For those who do not mind a bit of elevation gain, you can complete the loop down to a lower overlook where you can spot pelicans (hence the name), whales, and neighboring cows (those are fun too)! Just remember, what goes down must come back up ;) Can get windy in the later afternoon, so recommend mid-morning strolls for optimal weather!

Mendocino Headlands State Park is unforgettable. We walked straight from the village out along the…read morebluffs, with sweeping ocean views the entire way, then made our way down to a quiet beach where there was no one else around. Just sitting there with the sound of waves and birds felt incredibly peaceful. Simple, raw, and beautiful in a way that's hard to describe. One of those places that makes you slow down and just take it all in. Absolutely worth the walk from town.

We were able to find street parking easily in the morning- free. We walked a small section of the…read moreMendocino Headlands Trail. The bluffs and ocean views were beautiful. There were stairs on the side that lead to Portuguese Beach. We also viewed the blow hole. It was windy out there, but overall it was a nice quick stop.

One of my favorite beach parks on the coast! Beautiful trail through the cypress grove with…read morestunning views of the ocean and Pelican Rock. Plenty of driftwood along the wide beach, and the view of the town in the distance adds a nice touch.

Lovely campsite. Every single site is shaded. Some are huge, some are tiny, some are practically on…read moretop of each other. Half of them are also right on the river. We had sites 1+2 which were great for a group; 1 was VERY spacious (could have easily fit 4-5 tents). See my notes below - sorry for the incomplete sentences, I was doing this on my phone walking around. The raccoons are ruthless once it's dark out! They swiped food from our picnic table while we were sitting at it, just 5 feet away from it. I had my trunk open and left my car for a few minutes; when I came back they'd grabbed things from the cooler and broken some eggs we had. Be vigilent!! There is a beach nearby, with 4-7 year old kids, it was about a 40 minute walk. They definitely needed a lot of motivation to get there and back, but it was doable! The beach is beautiful, with all this stripped away dead wood that made for fun playhouses for the kids. But the waves are really tough there and there are about a million signs saying don't go into the water, as the sand gets very deep quickly, which creates these death trap waves. We had a dog off leash and someone told me that the rangers are really strict and will actually ticket if your dog is not leashed. *Note that EVERY SINGLE site is very well shaded. I stopped putting this in my notes halfway through when I realized this. F - 1 small tent, 2nd area for medium or large tent only, flat, river view, full shade, v private E - 2 tents,shade, river view, kind private D - two small tents, right on path no privacy, no river view, shaded C - 1 large tent, Right on path. No privacy, River view, shaded B - 2 medium tents A - two medium tents A/B basically like one site 11 - A little sloped, to medium times, no Riverview, kind of private 12 - not very private from the road, two medium tents s but would be tight, shaded but feels more open. No River View 13 - 3-4 of tent spots, isolated from other sites, shaded but feels open, a little bit Sloped, no River view 14 - very small, space for maybe one tent, shaded 15/16 - basically like one campground, very open right off the road, space for three to four tents 17 - space for two to three tents, open but shaded, semi-private 19 - Small, space for one to two tents, right off road 1 - very large for four or five tents 2 - space for 3 tents 3 - space for one or two tents, has the best river view 1-3 all in one line, shaded, on the river. 1 has the most trees 8 - One or two tents 9 - 1 tent 10 - 1 tent 8-10 All close to each other and not very private 8-9 very integrated, could be a group site. But really close to other sites on either side of the road 5-6 small, one tent each, could be a group site 4 - Small, maybe one or two tents. Right on River

Worth it for the baby seals. We didn't actually go down to the beach and instead chose to stay on…read morethe cliff and do the trails. Trails are easy from the parking lot and is dog friendly. As you get to the viewing point for the seals though, dogs are not allowed. (We saw a seal turn around and go back into the water after making eye contact/smell contact with our dog as we were walking near the cliff!) There were also seal docents who can explain what you're seeing and share binoculars.

This is a lovely cove beach, but I didn't find many shells! We were there at low tide and only…read moresaw a couple other people.

Beautiful trail. Look for the markets to stay on the trail when crossing the golf cart paths…read more You'll pass through a beautiful grotto with a waterfall and end at a gorgeous private beach. Lots of wildflowers and trees to observe, we saw a red legged frog on our hike today! Easy to walk.

We had a pleasant experience at Gualala Park. We were surrounded by redwoods trees. It felt like a…read morefairy garden. The campgrounds are clean and well maintained by the workers. We reserved the river side campground and were pleased with the views. The on-site store is not a walk-in. It's someone at the counter and you point what you want to buy. 8 pounds of ice is $5. They have a coffee truck available only in the mornings. Bathrooms and showers are clean. There's a coin machine by the store to get quarters for shower usage. I recommend this campsite. It is unique and majestic.

Owner is terrible and cruel. Staff is hit or miss. I met some great ones but one man in particular…read morecovered in tattoos and facial hair, came at us aggressive and was targeting our sites and reported untrue events that resulted in a ban for our family. I have been bringing my family for 6 years and have never had such a poor experience than this past time, in my life. We have invited numerous families to join in our tradition to make it fun for our kids. Friends, neighbors, friends of friends. The trip was one my kids looked forward to every year. We LOVED Gualala River Redwood Park. We have never had any issues or complaints and although we have invited many we all have our own groups that huddle together at night for cooking and campfires. We left our trip unknowing that there was anything wrong until the owner wrote an email a couple days later that was so rude and banned certain families from ever coming back. We were told we had 6 noise complaints towards our "group" this was untrue. 3 different families had 2 noise complaints each and none were related to each other. We were also told there was an altercation that happened when someone from our "group" was denied firewood, which also was not true and didn't involve the "group" it was a single person. One family that was banned had zero noise complaints, and another family that was not even on the camping trip this year but reserved for next year was banned. The owner was unwilling to reason or change her mind on any of this. I have never felt so unfairly treated in my life. My campsite never received a noise complaint and I was banned because I had the same last name as someone who did. Nothing that happened warranted a ban from ever returning. We were always respectful and would have never done anything to jeopardize not being able to come again. I am blown away with the unprofessionalism of the owner and her unwillingness to judge this situation fairly for all the families that weren't involved with breaking rules at all. The place may be beautiful but you are supporting an ugly person... I feel sorry for her, must be a sad life to live when you have so much hate for people that have only shown you love and loyalty. Rules are important but being fair and having a willingness to work with long time coming families that don't ever make mistakes but did one time is also important. There are two sides to every story... Let's be good human beings in a world that needs more of them. Sarah the owner is not, please don't support her campground.

We had an absolutely magical time camping here last weekend. The park itself is rather easy to get…read moreto as soon as you get to the coast coming from the Bay. The Rangers were lovely, the site host was very kind, we stayed at site 27 which was shielded from the wind, they had clean bathrooms and showers, a camp fire program on Friday night and sold wood onsite. We got to do a lovely hike, hang out at the beach, go to the Noyo fish Company in Fort Brag... it was great! We were also warned about a black bear who had been visiting recently. But alas did not have an encounter. However, we did find raccoon hand prints all over our table cloth and bear box. So do use your bear box!!

Returned to Van Damm State Park for a second time and already looking forward to future visits…read more I've yet camped at the upper campsites. Only experienced the two lower loops closest to the entrance as well as the beach across the highway. It's an overall great campground. The only concern would be your neighbors and the mosquitos at sites that are along the creek. Most if not all sites are RV friendly. Anything larger than a mid-sized travel trailer, you might want to be selective. For trailers that are low profiled, stick to the lower loops to avoid scraping. Opted to never pull a trailer here because I'm not a fan of towing on highway 1. Typically, the host would drive around the campground delivering firewood at 12 dollars a bundle. Otherwise, they are available at the host's designated site.