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MacKerricher State Park
Nearby Parks:
Jug Handle State Reserve
Russian Gulch State Park
Mendocino Headlands State Park
Van Damme State Park
Jackson State Forest
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| State Park Contact Information: |
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MacKerricher State Park
P.O. Box 440
Mendocino, California 95460
Phone: 707-937-5804
Toll Free: 800-444-7275
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Area Accommodations
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| Adopt-A-Park Contacts: |
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Photography: add your photos
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| State Park Reservations: |
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Reservations: 
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| State Park Overview: |
| MacKerricher State Park offers a variety of habitats; beach, bluff, headland, dune, forest and wetland. Tidepools are along the shore. Seals live on the rocks off the park?s Mendocino coast. More than 90 species of birds visit or live near Cleone Lake, a formal tidal lagoon. During winter and spring, the nearby headland provides a good lookout for whale watching. The park is popular with hikers, joggers, equestrians and bicyclists. Fishing is also popular, with trout in two fresh-water lakes. The park has a wheelchair accessible nature trail. |
| Reviews By Park Visitors: |
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THE GREATEST PARK OF ALL TIME
(name not given)
3-Aug-2008
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| Trails: |
| Ten Mile Beach Trail
From Laguna Point to Ten Mile River is 10 miles round trip;shorter hikes possibleTen Mile Dunes and lnglenook Fen, Laguna Point and Cleone Lake. These are some of the intriguing names on an intriguing land? MacKerricher State Park. Extending from just north of the Fort Bragg city limits to Ten Mile River, this park offers the walker a chance to explore headlands and wetlands, sand dunes, forest and meadowland.
In 1868, Scottish immigrant Duncan MacKerricher paid $1.25 an acre for a former Indian reservation, El Rancho de la Laguna. MacKerricher and his heirs worked the land until 1949 when they gift-deeded it to the state. The vast redwood forests of the coast range in the areas bordering Ten Mile River were heavily logged. An early coast railroad connected the mills of the town of Cleone with a landing at Laguna Point. Lumber was loaded onto flatcars which rolled by gravity to waiting schooners; horses hauled the cars back to the mill. At the point, anchor pins and other signs of the old landing can be seen.
A more obvious reminder of this coast?s logging history is the old haul road that crosses the park. In 1949, the road replaced a railway, which for three decades carried timber from the Ten Mile River Area to the Union Lumber Company in Fort Bragg. In 1982, winter storms washed out sections of the road, closing the five mile stretch from Cleone Lake to Ten Mile River. The road is closed to motor vehicles and is a superb path for walkers.
The old haul road travels the length of Ten Mile Beach to the mouth of Ten Mile River, so named because it?s ten miles north of Noyo River. The beach is backed by one of the California coast?s longest dune systems.
Directions to trailhead: From Highway 1, three miles north of Fort Bragg, turn west into the main entrance of MacKerricher State Park. Follow the signs to the Laguna Point Parking area.
The hike: Immediately west of the underpass, a short gravel road leads up to the paved ex-logging road. Walk north on the high embankment. You?ll soon observe Cleone Lake, a tidal lagoon cut off from the sea by the road. Many shore and water birds visit the lake. Mill Creek, which feeds the lake, is a winter stopover for ducks and geese. Bird-watchers will enjoy the mile-long walk around the lake.
Soon you?ll pass some squat shore pines?a coastal form of the much better-known lodgepole pine. You?ll also walk past a side trail leading to the state park campground. A quarter mile later another side trail beckons; this one leads over the dunes, which are covered with grasses, sand verbena and beach morning glory.
About a 1.5 miles north of the trailhead, you?ll encounter a washed-out section of road and, a few hundred yards farther, another bad section.
Two miles north of Laguna Point, tucked in the dunes, lies Inglenook Fen; it?s a sensitive area and not open to the public. A botanist studying this unique ecosystem gave it the Old English word fen?meaning something like a bog or marsh. Sandhill Lake and the marshy area around it support many rare plants such as marsh pennywort and rein orchid, as well as many endemic varieties of spiders and insects.
After walking three miles, you?ll pass a couple of small creeks and begin crossing the widest part of the sand dunes, which at this point are about a mile wide and measure more than one hundred feet high. About 4.5 miles from the trailhead, the road turns inland with Ten Mile River. You can continue walking north a short distance if you wish down to the mouth of Ten Mile River. The marsh area is inhabited by lots of waterfowl.
The main route travels inland above the east bank of Ten Mile River. A side trail leads southeast to a parking area beside Highway 1, while the paved road continues under the highway bridge. |
| History of the Area: |
| MacKerricher State Park is the only one in the park system that was at one time part of the Mendocino Indian Reservation. It is the only park unit that was part of the Union Lumber Company's vast timber and shipping holdings in northern Mendocino County. A small, independent logging and shipping operation began here, then was absorbed by the larger corporation. MacKerricher, known historically as Cleone, thus followed a pattern common to many of the small areas in the region. The park was officially opened in 1952; land was added along the Ten Mile beach until 1977, when the park contained more than 1,530 acres. |
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| Area Accommodations |
| B&Bs / Inns | | Auberge Mendocino Seaside Inn & Cottages - Auberge Mendocino Bed and Breakfast formally Rachel's Inn
Auberge Mendocino, luxury Seaside bed and breakfast Inn and cottages. Access to beach and headlands, every amenity; great comfort with style | | Glendeven Inn - Delightful 1867 country inn on the Mendocino coast with fireplaces, ocean views, private baths. Breakfast delivered to your room. Art gallery and lovely gardens. Peaceful. | | Stevenswood Spa Resort - A four diamond / five star country inn and restaurant of contemporary elegance nestled in the forest by the sea on the Mendocino Coast. The perfect escape with its canyon side private spas and sculpt |
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| Related Links: |
| Mackerricher State Park - & MACKERRICHER STATE PARK Set in the world of the tidal flats, the rocky shores of Laguna Point dominates MacKerricher State Park. Located approximately 3 miles north of Fort Bragg, this popular ... | | Biology 314 MacKerricher State Park Map & Directions - Biology 314 Field Trip to MacKerricher State Beach -- Sept. 7, 2002 MacKerricher State Park Map and Directions MacKerricher State Park is approximately 3 miles North of Fort Bragg and 0.5 mile ... | | Star Thistles (Naida Blevins, Miriam Koppel, Tammy Rease, Amber Shrum) - MacKerricher State Park, Laguna Point Research Project The Star Thistles (Naida Blevins, Miriam Koppel, Tammy Rease and Amber ... shoreline and beach of Laguna Point at MacKerricher State Park. | | Cleone Gardens Inn, Gateway to MacKerricher State Park. - ... grounds in the community of Cleone - gateway to MacKerricher State Park. Our central meadow is a focal point, accented with a ... facilities of MacKerricher State Park, Lake Cleone, Inglenook ... | | MacKerricher State Park - Garth Hagerman's photographs of Mackerricher State Park, on California's Mendocino Coast near the town of Fort Bragg ... by Garth Hagerman MacKerricher State Park Mack is a large and diverse ... | | Shore Diving Site Page for: Mackerricher State Park of California North, USA West - Celebrate Shore Diving and Snorkeling in USA West! ... Mackerricher State Park California North USA West Home Mackerricher State Park has an excellent cove for a relatively sheltered dive. The park ... | | Shore Diving Site Picture for: Mackerricher State Park of California North, USA West - Celebrate Shore Diving and Snorkeling in USA West! | | Mackerricher State Park - April 2000 - MACKERRICHER STATE PARK ( May 2000 ) Begining May 21st we spent a few days at Mackerricher ( This is one of the very best California Parks ) The park is located above Ft Bragg on the California ... | | Area Campgrounds | | |
| Directions: |
| The park is three miles north of Fort Bragg on Highway 1, near the town of Cleone. The park encompasses much of the land west of Cleone and a strip of beach between Fort Bragg and Ten Mile River. |
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