This is a gem of a park, offering almost a mile and a half of ocean frontage with great beaches and tide pools, plus more than 10 miles of lush, forested hiking trails and plenty of horseback riding trails. You’ll find a beautiful picnic area perched on a cliff overlooking a dramatic cove, spacious, well-laid out campgrounds with bathrooms and hot showers, a 3-mile long paved bicycle trail, and a 36-foot high waterfall that’s one of the park’s star attractions. Another highlight is the Devil’s Punchbowl, sometimes referred to as “the blowhole,” a partially collapsed sea cave 200 feet from the water’s edge that offers a stunning view of churning, surging waves 60 feet below you. The beach offers swimming, tide pool exploring, kayaking and rock fishing. Russian Gulch Creek Canyon is heavily forested. Altogether, Russian Gulch State Park’s 1,305 acres offer an ever-changing palette of natural beauty.

WHERE: 2 miles north of Mendocino on Hwy 1.
MORE INFO: 707-937-5804, 707-937-0497