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I N T R O D U C T I O N m e n d o c i n o c o u n t y 9 P A G E T I T L E & M E N D O C I N O C O U N T Y S TAT E & R E G I O N A L PA R K S MILL CREEK COUNTY PARK located just 19.5 miles from Ukiah is a stream where fishermen will find bream, bluegill, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. Hike up to a ridge for views of Ukiah Valley and spring wildflowers. www.co.mendocino.ca.us 463.4441 MONTGOMERY WOODS STATE RESERVE in the heart of this exceptional 1,323-acre reserve is a small alluvial flat that's hidden away in a remote, steep- sided valley, where you'll find one of the most scenic redwood groves in existence. 937.5804 NAVARRO RIVER REDWOODS STATE PARK is reached by traveling the winding, rolling hills along the Anderson Valley from Highway 128. As you enter this eleven-mile-long redwood tunnel to the sea, the redwood forest and Navarro River make for a magnificent site. 895.3141. http://mendoparks.mcn.org/nrrsp.htm POINT CABRILLO LIGHTSTATION Browse through two unique historical museums and the marine aquarium. Hike on 300 acres at the edge of the Pacific. Stay at Point Cabrillo Lightstation for weddings, receptions and celebrations. www.pointcabrillo.org/gd RUSSIAN GULCH STATE PARK is known for the heavily forested Russian Gulch Creek Canyon, a headland that features the Devil's Punch Bowl (a large, collapsed sea cave with churning water) and a beach that offers swimming, tide pool exploring, skin diving and rock fishing. Inland, there is a 36-foot waterfall, hiking trails and a paved three-mile bicycle trail. 937.5804, https://www.yelp.com/biz/russian-gulch- state-park-mendocino SCHOONER GULCH STATE BEACH and headlands offer a stunning perch for watching sunsets. Fishing, picnics and surfing are popular here. With two trailheads, the southern trail leads to Schooner Gulch Beach and the northern trail provides access to Bowling Ball Beach. 937.5804 VAN DAMME STATE PARK consists of 1,831 acres of beach and upland on the coast and features the lush Fern Canyon scenic trail system, the Pygmy Forest and the bog, or Cabbage Patch, where skunk cabbage grows in abundance. The park's trails go along the fern-carpeted canyon of Little River. (For kayak tours call 937.5804) At SINKYONE WILDERNESS STATE PARK Gray whales pass by during winter and early spring. Roosevelt elk roam the grasslands. Sea lions and harbor seals hang out in rocky coves. The 60-mile stretch of wilderness and steep trails are an arresting landscape, with canyons, arches, tide pools, sea stacks, seasonal wildflowers, waterfalls, and dark sand beaches. 986.7711 SMITHE REDWOODS STATE RESERVE Traveling north on the Redwood Highway from San Francisco toward Gualala, these are the first old- growth redwoods you will discover. To minimize human impact, there are no campgrounds, trails or parking lot but the 60-foot Dora Creek Falls and Eel River provide refreshing beauty for swimming and fishing. 247.3318 STANDISH-HICKEY STATE PARK with 150 campsites offers a refreshing stop on your drive to walk among the redwoods, swim or fish in the Eel River. 925.6482 VAN DAMME STATE PARK sits where Little River empties into a protected rocky bay that is very popular with abalone divers, kayakers and boaters looking for calm surf. Set up camp and hike to Pygmy Forest for a casual stroll or ten breathtaking miles. 937.5804 WESTPORT–UNION LANDING STATE BEACH covers over three miles of rugged and scenic coastline. The magnificent vistas, sunsets and tree covered mountains in the background provide inspiring challenges for photographers. 937.5804 MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST is 65 miles long and 35 miles across with 913,306 federally-owned acres of forest, mountains and canyons that range from an elevation of 750ft in Grindstone Creek Canyon to 8092ft at South Yolla Bolly Mountain. As the only one of California's 18 national forests not crossed by a paved road or highway, the forest is especially attractive to people seeking an outdoor experience of tranquility and solitude. (530) 934.3316 . www.nationalforests.org/our-forests/ find-a-forest/mendocino STORNETTA PUBLIC LANDS , Point Arena is on 1,665 acres with access to 12 coastal miles of undeveloped federal and state-managed public lands in Point Arena coastal bluffs, the estuary of the Garcia River, sandy beaches and dunes plus small islands accessible during low tide. blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ukiah/stornetta.html 468.4000 Go to www.Parks.CA.gov for more informations on all state parks in Mendocino County (The area code is 707 for all phone numbers below unless otherwise noted)