Laguna Point(MacKerricher State Park)

Located near the northern end of Fort Bragg, MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point is a blufftop state park area with access to a small rock-and-sand beach below it. This beach has brown sand and sparse amounts of vegetation. The shoreline around the beach is also rocky. The beach and the blufftop area above it are open for day use visits between 6 am to 10 pm. The beach below MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point does not have lifeguards. However, the blufftop area above this beach has restrooms, a boardwalk, and walking trails. The beach also allows dogs on leash. 

The beach below MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point offers many fun activities including hiking, wildlife watching, tidepooling, and sunbathing. The water near this beach is unsuitable for aquatic recreational activities including surfing and swimming as it is extremely cold and has dangerous currents. The water near the beach is home to many animals including seals, sea lions, otters, and migrating grey whales (between December and April). The beach is popular among tide poolers as many tide pools can be explored here during low tide. 

The blufftop area above the beach has a boardwalk which you can use to explore the vibrant coastal landscape in MacKerricher State Park. In addition, the boardwalk also offers Instagram-worthy views of the Pacific Ocean. MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point and an observation area known as the Laguna Point Seal Watching Station, which offers fantastic views of the rugged shoreline of Mendocino County and also offers a unique way to watch marine wildlife in the water near this state park. The boardwalk trail and the Seal Watching Station also have interpretive displays that offer interesting information about the local biodiversity and geography.

MacKerricher State Park has a variety of habitats that you can explore via hiking and biking trails including grasslands, sand dunes, forests, and wetlands. The state park also has a lake named Lake Cleone, whose surrounding areas are home to many animals including foxes, raccoons, and black-tailed deer. If you like birdwatching, the lake also attracts many bird species including ducks, cormorants, and herons. In addition, this lake and the area surrounding it is also a popular resting spot for migratory waterfowl. Lake Cleone is also a popular paddle-boating spot. If you like horse riding, there is a private concession near MacKerricher State Park which offers horse riding tours within designated state park areas. The state park’s visitor center also has many interesting exhibits including a grey whale skeleton. In addition, docent-led tours, junior ranger programmes, and campfire programmes are frequently organized by the state park. The state park also has four campgrounds. If you are planning to camp here, you can visit MacKerricher State Park’s web page on the California Department of Parks and Recreation’s website for more information on these campsites.

Getting to the beach below MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point is easy - Laguna Point is located to the south of the MacKerricher State Park entrance near 24100 MacKerricher State Park Road, which is easily accessible from Shoreline Highway/Pacific Coast Highway via Mill Creek Drive. The nearest free parking lot to the beach is located near the state park’s Surfwood Campground, from where you can easily walk to the beach. 

There are many attractions near MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point. NOYO Center for Marine Science has a discovery center that offers interesting exhibits on the local biodiversity. The discovery center also has a gift shop. In addition, NOYO Center for Marine Science also has the Crow’s Nest Interpretive Center that is situated upon a bluff overlooking the ocean. This interpretive center also has interesting exhibits on natural history, an aquarium tide pool, and a deck for whale watching. Larry Spring Museum of Common Sense Physics is dedicated to the work of Larry Spring, who was a resident of the town of Fort Bragg who developed his own amateur understanding of scientific phenomena. Larry demonstrated his experiments using commonly available materials and constructed many erratic and interesting apparatus, models, and inventions displaying a combination of outsider art and science. If you are looking for another attraction near MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point, Otis R. Johnson Wilderness Park is a seven-acre large forested park that has hiking trails. This park offers a unique insight into the regional biodiversity of North California.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants in MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point. Mayan Fusion Restaurant offers fantastic Mexican cuisine with culinary influences from the Yucatan peninsula. Off The Hook is a Japanese restaurant that serves delicious sushi, sashimi, tempura, and udon soup. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point, the modestly priced Jenny’s Giant Burger has a retro ambiance and serves delicious burgers in generous portions.

If you are looking for a hotel near MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point, there are many great nearby options. The 4-Star Inn at Newport Ranch offers breathtaking views of the Mendocino County shoreline. In addition, the hotel offers many amenities including complimentary breakfast and evening snacks, access to spa services, a sauna, and a hot tub. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Shoreline Cottages that offers many amenities including a picnic area and a hot tub. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near MacKerricher State Park - Laguna Point, the modestly priced 2-Star Ebb Tide Inn offers complimentary breakfast. In addition, the hotel offers free accommodation to kids under 11 staying with an adult family member.