Mendocino Headlands State Park - Big River Unit

Big River Unit

The Big River Unit of Mendocino Headlands State park consists of 7,334 acres (30 km2) of land along the banks of the Big River, south of Mendocino. It includes 1500 acres (6 km2) of wetlands and the longest undeveloped estuary in Northern California. The park was created on July 30, 2002 after a group of donors, nonprofit organizations, and agencies, led by the Mendocino Land Trust, collected over 25 million dollars to purchase the property from the Hawthorne Timber Company and conveyed it to the California State Park system.

The unit can be reached by State Route 1, south of Mendocino. Amenities are few, but include hiking paths on both sides of the river. Canoes and kayaks are available for rent from the Stanford Inn by the Sea on the south side of the river, and lead to a gentle paddle through eight miles (13 km) of forest.

At the mouth of the river, a footpath leads north under the Highway 1 bridge to Big River beach and the town of Mendocino. Inland, north of the river, the unit abuts Mendocino Woodlands State Park; the hiking path on the north bank of the river leads from one park to the other. On the south side of the river Van Damme State Park is nearby, across the Comptche-Ukiah Road.

There is also a "Big River State Park" in Illinois.

Read more about this topic:  Mendocino Headlands State Park

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