MendocinoFun.com
The Discriminating Guide to Adventure on the Mendocino Coast

I’m not going to make this a “favorite.” Afterall, everthing can’t be a favorite. But Spring Hill Ranch was an incredible addition to Van Damme State Park, a huge expansion sandwiched between Van Damme Beach on the south, Chapman Point on the north, Highway 1 on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west.

The walk is spectacular: there are two benches cut from tree trunks along the trail where you can sit and watch the waves crashing into the rocky coast. In early spring and winter, the waves create an incredible show of size and power. Some of the waves are 30-feet plus, which literally explode as they hit the cliffs, shooting water another 20 feet high.

There are two entry points from Highway 1 — an marked fence opening just north of the B & B Auberge of Mendocino, and a small dirt strip about 100 yards from the Gordon Lane sign just south of Menodcino Village. Sounds complicated. But ask a local or your innkeeper. There’s no paved parking near the Gordon Lane entrance; just a dirt road with room for a half dozen or so cars.

What is there to do? Walk, look, smell the ocean air, sit and contemplate, watch the harbor seals on rocks near Van Damme Beach. Or picnic on the bluffs. Not too many tourists find this place. So, check it out and enjoy the solitude.

From the Gordon Lane entrance, you can walk to the ocean, all the way to the end of trail and back in 45 minutes (about 3 miles roundtrip).

Posted: Saturday, February 24th, 2007 at 2:13 pm    
Filed under: hikes, parks.
RSS for Responses: RSS 2.0 Both comments and pings are currently closed.