Getting to the beaches of Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge is easy – a free parking lot for Ma-le'l Dunes – North Unit is located near the end of North Ma-le'l Dunes Road. From this parking lot you need to walk on a hiking trail that will eventually lead to the beach in Ma-le'l Dunes - North Unit. It is important to note that North Ma-le'l Dunes Road is open only between Friday and Monday. From Tuesday to Thursday you need to walk north along the shoreline from the free parking lot of another separate area called Ma-le'l Dunes – South Unit (which is situated near the intersection between Young Lane and Vera Linda Lane) in order to get to the beach in Ma-le'l Dunes - North Unit.
Located near the communities of Eureka and Arcata, Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a large federally-protected wildlife area that primarily conserves the wetland habitats for migratory water birds. The main part of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge does not have a beach, but it manages two nearby sand dune fields named Lanphere Dunes and Ma-le’l Dunes–North Unit. These two sand dune fields have two separate unnamed beaches with brown sand.
