North Coast of California: MacKerricher State Park

If traveling north on Highway 1, Fort Bragg is the last major town before the road turns far inland, to avoid the impassable peaks of the King Range. There are several scenic preserves nearby, including Mendocino Headlands and Point Cabrillo a few miles south, and MacKerricher State Park just to the north. This contains seven miles of the coast, and has varied scenery of cliffs, tidepools, wetlands, woodland, sand dunes, lagoons and beaches, plus many offshore rocks. Some parts are quite developed but is easy to find solitude, by walking away from the one access road, in the central area. The park also includes an old section of railroad, once used to transport redwood timber to Fort Bragg.

Location: MacKerricher State Park