Point Arena is a popular spot for watching nature’s largest mammals as they migrate South to warmer waters in Winter or head North in the spring. Whale watchers may see blue and humpback whales from Mid April thru mid December. If you see whales in groups off the Northern California coast between December and April, they may be gray whales. How do you spot a whale? Scan the horizon watching
“Earth laughs in flowers.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson Point Arena Lighthouse has an excellent wild sea bluff garden. Mounding perennial plants like seaside daisy and golden aster mingle with annual wildflowers like baby blue eyes. The best time to see wildflowers near the Lighthouse is March through June. Baby Blue Eye as seen on a wildflower walk Manchester State Beach includes sea bluffs and dunes that host many Spring wildflowers.
Point Arena is a haven for seals. Many can be seen on rocks sun bathing all along the coast. Harbor seals, also known as common seals, each have their own unique pattern. They are covered in small spots that are either dark on a light background or light on a dark background. They have no external ear flaps and small flippers that cause them to have to flop around on
The Point Arena – Stornetta Unit of the California Coastal National Monument include over two miles of coastline, the estuary of the Garcia River and the adjacent beach. Historic Point Arena Lighthouse is just to the North and Manchester State Park is just beyond the lighthouse. This beautiful piece of the California coastline is the perfect place for a leisurely hike. Over eleven hundred acres located along the Mendocino County
Developed by the Moat Creek Managing Agency (a group of local outdoor enthusiasts), this bluff top trail provides magnificent ocean vistas & rugged beaches Moat Creek to Bowling Ball Beach is a wonderful outing, but, if you are going all the way to the Bowling Alley, make sure and check your tide tables. If the tide is high, you are almost certainly going to get your feet wet and you
Where the San Andreas Fault meets the Pacific Ocean Manchester Beach State Park has a five mile long beach, sand dunes, and flat grasslands. It is an excellent place to find a wide variety of coastal wildflowers and a diverse selection of dramatic sea birds. Steelhead and salmon fishing is possible in the park’s two streams – Brush Creek and Alder Creek. The San Andreas Fault runs through the park
Concretions, unique geology are what makes Bowling Ball Beach in Point Arena so special. The trail to Bowling Ball Beach is at mile marker 11.41 about three miles South of Point Arena on Highway One. You will see a sign saying “Park facing South only” where you can safely park your car on the West side of the road. The Southern path leads to Schooner Gulch. The Northern path will
During the Age of Sail, doghole schooners utilized this tiny facility to supply the residents of Point Arena and take on lumber, dairy products, hides and other exports for transport to San Francisco and beyond. The pier was the site of Life Station #314 which was an important part of the coastal navigation system in place throughout the Nineteenth century and well into the early years of the Twentieth century.