Portuguese Beach(Mendocino Headlands State Park)

Located in Mendocino Headlands State Park, Portuguese Beach is a beach with light brown sand. This beach is situated below oceanfront bluffs. 

Portuguese Beach does not have lifeguards. However, the area around this beach has many amenities including hiking trails and restrooms. Dogs on leash are allowed on Portuguese Beach. 

Portuguese Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, wildlife watching, and hiking. Aquatic recreational activities are unsafe in the water near this beach as the water here has dangerous waves and strong currents. In addition, drowning-related deaths have also been reported near the beach. Depending on the time of the year, you can see many kinds of animals in the water near this beach including seals, sea lions, and migrating whales. The beach also offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of a nearby offshore natural rock archway. There are many hiking trails in the blufftop area above Portuguese Beach which offer a unique way to explore the vibrant Mendocino County shoreline. A 19th-century building named Ford House (also known as the Historic Ford House) is also present near Portuguese Beach. This building currently houses a museum and also serves as the visitor center for Mendocino Headlands State Park. Ford House has many interesting historical exhibits including a scale-model exhibit of 19th-century Mendocino.

Mendocino Headlands State Park is spread around 347 acres which preserves a beautiful and rugged section of the Mendocino County shoreline and the area around the mouth of the Big River. The state park has a vibrant landscape consisting of many habitats including wetlands, coastal scrub, and riparian forests. In addition, the state park also offers many fun activities including surfing, hiking, picnicking, and surfing. The state park also hosts the annual Mendocino Music Festival which sees exciting music concerts being organized on the state park property.  

Getting to Portuguese Beach is easy - the access trail to the beach is located near the western end of Main Street, which also has a free parking lot. Once you park in this parking lot, you can walk along this access trail, which leads to a set of wooden stairs offering access to Portuguese Beach. We recommend visiting the beach wearing appropriate footwear as the beach is known to have driftwood.

There are many attractions near Portuguese Beach. Kelley House Museum has interesting historical exhibits that highlight the rich history of Mendocino County and northern California. 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 Portuguese 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 which 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 Portuguese Beach. The upscale MacCallum House Restaurant has a rosy ambiance and serves fantastic gourmet dishes. Luna Trattoria is an Italian restaurant that is famous for its delicious pastas. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Portuguese Beach, the modestly priced Frankie’s Mendocino offers delicious pizzas, ice cream, salads, and falafel.

If you are looking for a hotel near Portuguese Beach, there are many great nearby options. The 4-Star Brewery Gulch Inn offers many amenities including lush gardens with ponds, a common area that has a fire-place, a small library, a DVD collection featuring more than 500 movies, and board games, and complimentary local wine, beer, light dinner buffets, and breakfast. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Mendocino Hotel and Garden Suites that offers many amenities including a balcony, a two acre-large garden with a spa, two restaurants, a lounge, and a bar. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Portuguese 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.