FIRST DAY WALKS: California State Parks announces guided interpretive hikes at 4 state parks along the Mendocino Coast on January 1, 2012. These hikes are part of a nationwide effort of special hikes on New Years Day in state parks in all 50 states. This will promote state parks and participation in healthy activities. All of these hikes will take place on California’s North Coast in wintertime. Be prepared for cool temperatures.

WALK #1: Westport-Union Landing State Beach. Meet the docent at 1:00 p.m. at the park headquarters building at park main entrance, just west of Hwy 1. The park is located about 19 miles north of Fort Bragg, California on Hwy 1. This will be a 1 mile long moderate hike. This hike is suggested for children 8 years and older, and adults. Learn fun facts about the once bustling town of Westport from local resident Steve Brigham.

WALK #2: MacKerricher State Park. Meet the docent at 10:00 a.m. at the Laguna Point parking lot, from Mill Creek Road, three miles north of Fort Bragg, California, west of Hwy 1. This will be an easy three-quarter-mile walk along a boardwalk. This short walk will be filled with fun facts about MacKerricher State Park as you walk to an overlook above the ocean. Park Naturalist Teresa Hurray will lead this walk. The walk is suggested for children 12 years and older, and adults.

WALK #3: Russian Gulch State Park. Meet the docent in front of the recreation hall at the park at 12:00 noon. The park entrance road is located on the west side of Hwy 1, three miles north of Mendocino, California. This will be a moderate 5.5 mile out and back hike (2.75 miles each way) to the beautiful waterfall at Russian Gulch State Park. You will learn about the park’s natural history from Dave Jensen, renowned birder and naturalist. This hike is suggested for children 10 years and older, and adults. Bring water and snacks with you.

WALK #4: Mendocino Headlands State Park. Meet the docent at the Ford House Visitor Center at 1:00 p.m. The visitor center is at 725 E. Main St. in Mendocino, California. This will be a moderate 2 mile out and back hike (1 mile each way) to the bluffs overlooking the ocean. Park naturalist Fred Andrews will talk about the annual migration of gray whales between Alaska and Baja. Binoculars will be provided to look for gray whales swimming southward. This hike is suggested for children 10 years and older, and adults.

WHALE TALKS: California State Parks announces weekend whale talks at MacKerricher State Park! Talks will take place from January 7 through March 18, 2012. Knowledgeable docents will talk about the annual gray whale migration and about other marine mammals seen along the Mendocino coast. Programs are scheduled to begin every Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 a.m., from January 7, through March 18.

Talks will begin near the visitor center at the main entrance to MacKerricher State Park. Docents will provide binoculars and a spotting scope to help visitors study whales and other fascinating wildlife found near MacKerricher’s shores. After meeting at the MacKerricher visitor center, groups will then drive to Laguna Point, where you will walk out to look for whales. Programs are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday from January 7 through March 18, 2011

Photo by Dennis Freeze

This is one of my favorite times of the year at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens — when the dahlias and fuchsias are in bloom. Plus, Friends of the Garden’s display artists created birdhouses for their annual auction, and I can guarantee you’ll be delighted with the creativity of these artists. You can leave a bid on your favorite birdhouse or “Buy It Now”. But don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Artist Reception and final bid night on August 19th…a guaranteed fun evening with friends, food and wine…and all for the Gardens we love. Open daily 9am – 5 pm, 18220 N. Highway One, Fort Bragg. 707-964-4352

The Mendocino Land Trust invites the public to celebrate the Grand Opening of the Caspar Uplands Trail, on Sunday, March 13, 2011 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., at Caspar Beach in Caspar, California.  A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 1:00 p.m., followed by trail tours.  This event will be held rain or shine.

The one-mile Caspar Uplands Trail is the newest segment of Mendocino Coast’s California Coastal Trail.  The trail starts at Caspar Beach and ends at Point Cabrillo Drive near the northeast corner of the Point Cabrillo Light Station State Reserve.  This pedestrian trail winds through the southernmost stand of Sitka Spruce in North America, providing users with beautiful forest and meadow views, as well as an occasional glimpse of the ocean.  This trail was built as part of the Land Trust’s Coastal Trail Program.

Funds for trail construction and the Land Trust’s Coastal Trail Program are provided by a grant from the State Coastal Conservancy.  Additional State Prop 40 funding through Mendocino County helped complete the trail construction.  The Land Trust thanks the State Coastal Conservancy, Mendocino County, California Conservancy Corps, Surfriders, West Coast Landscaping, Caspar R.V. Park and Campground, Kendall Smith, Art and Jean Morley, Tamira Jones, and numerous trail volunteers for their support and collaboration in building the Caspar Uplands Trail.

Notably, the Caspar Uplands Trail is on a 55-acre property that Mendocino Land Trust plans to donate to California State Parks.  This conveyance is scheduled to occur in 2011.

Summer Programs at MacKerricher State Park
California State Parks announces free, guided interpretive programs at MacKerricher State Park.  These programs will be presented every week through September 6, 2009. All programs are led by park staff or volunteers.

Big River Interpretive Walks are free of charge and open to the public.  The 2009 Interpretive Walks will occur on the following Saturdays at 10:00 a.m., weather permitting: May 2, May 16, June 6, June 20, July 4, July 18, August 1, August 15, September 5, September 19 and October 3.

Each Interpretive Walk begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Big River Kiosk located at the eastern end of the Big River Beach parking lot south of Mendocino.  Walks cover a total of two to four miles, are moderately paced and last for one to two hours.  Anyone under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult.  Comfortable walking shoes, water and binoculars are recommended for anyone attending.

This year, ten Big River Docents are returning to share their knowledge with the public.  Big River Docents attended five training sessions in 2008 to learn from recognized experts about the special qualities of Big River.  Before the start of the 2009 season, the docents had the opportunity to attend two additional training sessions featuring Lance Johansen on Big River local folklore and Skip Wollenberg on the underlying geology of Big River.

This event is for the release of the Third Edition of Mendocino Outdoors, the best guidebook about the Mendocino Coast. The new edition is a huge improvement over the past editions in all ways: it’s been completely revised (rewritten, really), and expanded to cover the entire Mendocino Coast. The new edition also has a lot more photography in it, to show you why you might want to go see something. I also ended up revising all of the maps, in addition to new ones.

You can see more about the book, including sample pages, here on the site.

Here is a printable (PDF) schedule of events. These pictures are from previous Heritage Days events.

This past weekend, my friend Wild Bill and I took a quick overnight camping trip to Gualala Regional Park, located on the south side of Gualala River, in a grove of redwoods, including a grove with some old growths. Fantastic beaches, walks and a nice little town nearby. I also saw my first sign for $4 per gallon gasoline at the Chevron in Gualala.

We stopped at Queenie’s Roadhouse, one of our favorites, in Elk for breakfast. As we waited for our meal to arrive, the fog ended two beautiful clear days. After breakfast we head to Point Arena to hike out to Stornetta Preserve’s waterfall, which also was shrouded in some fog. By the time we got to School Creek road, we hit the fog-free sunbelt. When you first hear about the banana belt of the southern Mendocino Coast, you figure it’s just locals joshing. But it’s a real phenomenon. Bowling Ball beach, on the north end of the banana belt, was fog free and warm, as were points south and our campsite overlooking the river.

By the way, the trail to bowling ball has collapsed partway at the end before decending onto the beach. But the sturdy steps have become a sturdy ladder, which seems safe enough if you take it slowly and are a fairly agile person (I’m not encouraging you, must letting you know about the condition). If you have a problem with your coordination or feel unsafe on ladders, forget it … otherwise at low tide you can walk among and sit on the wonderous giant boulders they call bowling balls and bathe in the warm sunshine of our coastal banana belt.