Big River Beach at Mendocino Headlands State Park

About

Big River Beach sits where Big River meets the Pacific south of Mendocino, a sandy stretch under bluffs and coastal prairie. Driftwood lines the shore; shifting sandbars and lagoons change the beach year to year. It is part of a 7,400-acre wildlife corridor with birds, seals, and river otters, with calm estuary waters for canoeing, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding.