Van Damme Beach(Van Damme State Park)

Located a couple of miles south of Mendocino, Van Damme Beach - also known as Little River Beach - is a popular beach with grey sand and significant pebbly portions. This beach is situated within a cove and is part of a state park known as Van Damme State Park. Van Damme Beach is surrounded by bluffs on both sides. This popular beach has a beautiful background of an oceanfront forest. The Little River flows through the beach into the Pacific Ocean. Van Damme Beach does not have lifeguards. 

However, the beach and the area around it have many other amenities including restrooms, hiking and biking trails, showers, watersporting equipment rental facility, and picnic tables. Dogs on leash are allowed on the beach. 

Van Damme Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, biking, beachcombing, hiking, wildlife watching, picnicking, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding, stand-up paddleboarding, scuba diving, and boating. The water near this beach is generally calmer than other nearby Mendocino County beaches, making it ideal for kayakers, canoers, and paddleboarders. A nearby private concession named Kayak Mendocino also offers amazing guided kayak tours of the rocky shoreline around Van Damme Beach. You can also explore interesting sea caves present around the beach while participating in these tours. In addition, Kayak Mendocino also organizes stand-up paddleboarding sessions in the water near this beach. Scuba divers also enter the water near Van Damme Beach to explore its vibrant underwater biodiversity and to seasonally collect abalone shellfish - the water near this beach has kelp forests that are home to many kinds of fish and marine invertebrates including lingcod, cabezon, nudibranchs, and anemones. Depending on the time of the year, you can also watch many kinds of marine mammals in the water near this beach including seals and sea lions. However, if you are planning to go into the water near Van Damme Beach, we recommend being careful as the water here has unpredictable rip currents. If you like birdwatching, you can also see many kinds of shorebirds around Van Damme Beach. If you are planning to fish in the water near Van Damme Beach, please make sure that you follow the local fishing regulations.

Van Damme State Park protects a beautiful portion of the Mendocino County shoreline and offers many fun activities including scuba diving, camping, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, wildlife watching, and biking. The state park’s hiking and biking trails offer a fun way to explore its vibrant biodiversity. In addition, the state park’s visitor center also offers a unique insight into Northern California’s vibrant history. Van Damme State Park also has an interesting pygmy forest and a fern-filled canyon known as the Fern Canyon which can be explored by visitors. Van Damme State Park also has a campground which accommodates both tents and RVs. If you are planning to camp in Van Damme State Park, you can visit the state park’s webpage on the California Department of Parks and Recreation’s website for more useful information regarding the camping rules and charges.  

Getting to Van Damme Beach is easy - the beach is situated near 8001 Highway 1/Pacific Coast Highway, and a free parking lot is also available nearby.

There are many attractions near Van Damme Beach. Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens has a variety of plant collections that are home to a vivid array of flora including a marine zone garden, gardens containing dahlias and magnolias, a conifer pine forest, a kitchen garden, and a camellia garden. In addition, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens are famous for having an incredible array of beautiful and sweet-smelling rhododendron flowers. The Temple of Kwan Tai is a Chinese Taoist temple and a California Historical Landmark that was built in the 19th century and offers an interesting insight into the role played by the Asian community in California’s development and history. If you are looking for another attraction near Van Damme Beach, Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park has hiking and biking trails that you can use to explore the state park’s vibrant blufftop landscape and interesting fauna. In addition, the park is a major regional historical landmark - the state park has a lighthouse that was built in the early 20th century and has a third-order Fresnel lens made by the British glassworks company Chance Brothers. This lighthouse also has interesting exhibits. Apart from this lighthouse, there are two other buildings that you can explore - the 1st Assistant Lightkeeper’s House which has been restored to its original look from the 1930s and the restored Blacksmith & Carpenter Shop which currently houses the Marine Sciences Exhibit that has a 240-gallon seawater aquarium and interesting exhibits on local marine life.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Van Damme Beach. The Ledford House Restaurant has a dining area which offers amazing views of the Pacific Ocean. The restaurant offers amazing fusion cuisine with Mediterranean, Latin American, and Asian influences. Trillium Cafe offers a memorable oceanfront dining area and also has a fireplace. In addition, the restaurant also serves amazing Californian cuisine with Mediterranean and East Asian influences. The restaurant has also been praised by many reputed publications including Sunset and Travel & Leisure magazines. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Van Damme Beach, Headlands Coffeehouse is a 17-minute drive away and offers amazing breakfast dishes, desserts, sandwiches, soups, salads, and pizza. In addition, the restaurant also hosts art shows and live music performances.

If you are looking for a hotel near Van Damme Beach, there are many great options nearby. The 4-Star Heritage House Resort & Spa offers many amenities including a fitness center, a restaurant, and access to a beach. In addition, hiking trails are also available in the hotel premises. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Inn at Schoolhouse Creek offers many amenities including a spa, a hot tub, and access to a beach. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Van Damme Beach, the 2-Star Holiday Inn Express Fort Bragg, an IHG Hotel offers many amenities including a pool, a hot tub, a gym, and complimentary breakfast.