We stopped at Van Damme State Park for a little break from our drive to Fort Bragg, California. The park is three miles south of Mendocino. It was so nice there that we stayed to see the spectacular sunset.
The park was named for Charles Van Damme, who was born at Little River, a lumber mill town in 1881. He ran the Richmond-San Rafael ferry line and purchased this plot of land near where he was born. After his death, it became part of the State Park System in 1934.
Highway 1 runs through the park. It has a forest full of redwoods and ferns. There is also a pygmy forest there, with stunted cypress and pine trees. On the other side of the highway, a beautiful beach.
Activities include year- round camping, hiking, fishing and biking. The kayak tours show harbour seals, shore birds and sea caves.
The Visitor Center was a former rec hall built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 30’s. It has a mural of Native American life along the Californian Coast and a model of surge canal with all the plants and wildlife that live there.
Another place in California that we have to go back to see more of!
