I love the Northern California Coast. I love everything about it. I love the chill in the air, the mist on the ocean, the cold windswept beaches. I love the closeness I feel to nature, the connection to the land and the people that came before and that are still there. I can feel my ancestors. It is magical.
We have made many trips to Mendocino County, some before babies and some with babies. We have mostly traveled up to Mendocino in the winter and spring, but love all seasons on the California Coast.
Read on to find:
We respectfully acknowledge that the lands we traveled through in this part of Mendocino are the ancestral homelands of the Northern Pomo and Coast Yuki tribe.
Before you go
- Bring snacks, music, and art supplies for the ride. Check out the Molly of Denali podcast!
- Leave the East Bay during naptime. The total trip takes about 3 hours.
- If you need to break up the trip, take a pit stop in Santa Rosa (check out our recommendations for places to stretch your legs and grab some kid-friendly lunch here).
What we packed
- Standard diaper bag essentials
- Beach essentials (towels, sand toys, beach mat, kite, and sunscreen)
- Baby carrier for hiking trails and a stroller for city walks
- Pack layers – the beach can be cold
- Hiking clothes/shoes and a change of clothes
What to do in Mendocino & Fort Bragg with Kids
Beaches
Just off Highway-1 is Caspar Headlands State Beach, located in the small town of Caspar in the Mendocino Coast. It is a big beach, with the ocean on one side and a river inlet on the other that is fed by two creeks.
The ocean was rough on the winter morning we visited, so we headed to the river inlet side where there were zero waves and no people! The littles enjoyed throwing stones and sand into the water as we stayed bundled up on a blanket.
This beach has easy parking and even a few bonfires! Stop by the market at the RV park across the street for a few snacks and ice cream for dessert (see Where to Stay below for more details).
One of our favorite beaches in Mendocino is Glass Beach in Fort Bragg. This beach is not a “bring your sand toys for the day” kind of beach, but a beach for adventure and discovery. What is unique about this beach is that the sand is actually tiny bits of beach glass.
I am sad to report that in 2021 the beach was closed! Even though there was a fence blocking the trail down from the cliff to the beach, there were quite a few folks walking down by the water and taking photos. I am not going to confirm or deny watching someone in my family hop said fence and walk down to the beach.
Drive about twenty minutes north of the hustle and bustle of Fort Bragg and you’ll find yourself overlooking some beautiful California coastline. We pulled over for a picnic and to stretch our legs at the Westport Union Landing State Beach and found an empty campground!
We took over a campsite picnic table on the bluff at lunch so we could hear the sound of the ocean waves crashing below. Soon it was naptime, so I put the baby in a carrier walked with our toddler to find the beach access trail. Suddenly, we were lost! You’d think it would be easy to get to the beach when you’re standing on a bluff overlooking the ocean…but it proved difficult!
If you’re lost too, look towards the bathrooms (which are not too shabby BTW…) to find the path down to the beach. Once we reached the water, our toddler enjoyed throwing stones into the river and my husband made a rock bridge to get to the other side. Maybe it is still there!!
Point Cabrillo Lighthouse
Did I mention I love lighthouses? The half-mile walk to the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse is lined by trees and interactive whale facts on posts along the way. The lighthouse is so cute! It has a little red roof and the lighthouse keeper’s cottages are in great historic condition. When you get there, check out some of the coastal trails that wind around the cliffs. We didn’t get to spend too much time wandering as our toddler decided she was too tired to walk back. Cheers to carrying a 40lb child uphill on a hike!! Good thing I was already carrying our sleeping baby in an Ergo and I couldn’t help carry the heavy one – sorry husband!
Check out our blog post here for more tips on visiting the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse.
Hiking
A few miles south of downtown Mendocino is Van Damme State Park, with miles and miles of trails (and a campground mentioned below). We explored a few muddy trails with our girls after lunch. Our toddler loved slipping in the mud and chasing the crows – oh so many crows!
The Pygmy Forest Trail is only 0.2 miles and has a fun bridge to explore and lots of wildflowers.
Drive about 30 minutes north from downtown Mendocino to check out this off-the-beaten-path park. The main trail to check out is the Ecological Staircase Trail which walks you through some beautiful scenery, including a pygmy tree forest and free ecological pamphlets to guide your hike.
This five-mile trail was a little long for our toddler but perfect for older kids. I would recommend hiking in a mile or two, having a lunch break, then heading back while your kiddo still has energy. Even though it was long, our toddler enjoyed looking at the pamphlet and learning about the nature around her.
Where to Eat
Noyo Fish Company is located in – you guessed it – a little fishing town right outside of Fort Bragg called Noyo. The fish and chips ($15) here are probably the best I’ve ever had, so good even our picky toddler was singing “I love fish and chips” after the meal. The restaurant is right on Noyo Harbor, with views of boats coming in and out. We even saw a sea lion hopping on a fishing boat for scraps!
Definitely try their fish tacos ($16) too – but don’t order too much because they are HUGE. Keep in mind the bathroom is across the street and around the back of a building. It was clean but a little tricky to get to with littles in tow.
Cafe Beaujolais is a delicious spot for dinner and is located in a historic house in downtown Mendocino. They have fancy meals ($30-40) and Sunday Brunch ($16-20) if you want to eat in or for takeout. Their brick oven pizzas ($16) were a huge hit with the littles – but make sure to order early because the brick oven is only open until 5pm on weekdays.
Where to Stay
Since it is cold and chilly in Mendocino most of the year, I recommend renting an Airbnb, Vrbo, or other indoor location with your littles. We love winter camping, but the ease of an Airbnb is often too hard to pass up, especially when your trip is longer than one night or two. If you are interested in camping or only staying for a few days, check out the campsites we recommend below with our most favorite on top!
An Airbnb is the way to go with kids; that way you have a whole house full of space for your kids explore (and a living room to enjoy a glass of wine in while they sleep) instead of just squeezing in one hotel room.
We stayed at this Cozy Cabin in the Woods and loved the location. Set back off a dirt road minutes away from Caspar Beach and only a few miles from downtown Mendocino, this little cozy cabin was the perfect launch pad to explore the Mendocino Coast. It has everything you need – a huge tub (all three of us girls fit in!), a kitchen with everything you need to cook and enjoy family meals, living room space, and one bedroom with two beds.
Biggest challenge – the heat comes from an old gas heater that gets very hot. Although we enforced strict rules for our girls about staying away from the heater when it was on, our 3-year-old needed a LOT of reminding. Also, the stairs to the bedroom were very steep.
Finally, there is an outdoor shower (the only shower in the unit BTW)!
Just down the road from downtown Mendocino is an awesome California State Park Campground. It is a little rustic, but has clean bathrooms, showers, and lots of trees. It was cold and rainy when we were there, so everything was a bit damp and muddy.
This campsite is a great launching off point for seeing the sites of Mendocino County, and since it is so close to downtown Mendocino you can just pop over there to eat too (which is what we did).
Off Highway-1 is the perfect RV and campground right next to Caspar Beach. There are tent sites ($45/night), RV sites ($51-68), and cabins ($85-110, 2 night minimum).
The campsite has lots of trees and as an amazing little grocery mart that has everything you could need (like ice cream and hot cocoa, of course).
Our kids loved this campsite for the proximity to the beach and the fact that you have to walk past the grocery mart on the way into the campground – meaning lots of stops for treats.
Drive north of Fort Bragg about 20 miles to find a campground with sweeping coastal views on a bluff above a three-mile beach. It is beautiful, windy, and cold! The campsites are close together and very exposed (no trees, just beach grass between) and all have a gorgeous view of the ocean.
The campsite is first-come, first-served, and when we pulled in there were no other campers! Lucky for us, but also kinda creepy. The campsite is also located right off the highway, so it is noisy.
Best part of the campsite – the proximity to the beach. We headed straight down to the beach after picking our site and even though it was so cold, my 4-year-old ran straight to the ocean. We conveniently used the water spigot at the campsite to rinse the sand off our feet and then dried our wet clothes on the fire pit. Beach camping at its finest.
Wishlist for next time:
- Camp at Jug Handle Creek Farm
- Find more BIPOC restaurants to support
- Explore more Jug Handle hiking trails
- Visit the North Coast Brewery in Fort Bragg
- Stay at the lighthouse keeper’s houses at Point Cabrillo Lighthouse
As much as I love the Mendocino coastline I often wonder, where are my BIPOC families? Many restaurants and stores are staffed by white folks, and I mostly saw white tourists as well. I know there are BIPOC families out there, but where? Although it felt a little #mendosowhite I didn’t feel uncomfortable or unwelcome, and would highly recommend adding a little color to this side of California.
What is your favorite thing about the Mendocino coast? Share in the comments below.
Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.
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