sludick

Think this is it: EBRPD - Redwood

5alive

Glad you had a good time, and were able to make changes to your itinerary. Where was your horse ride? I'd be interested.

cdc

Hi,
Sorry for the delay. I believe it is called Redwood Regional Park. It is in Oakland - not a far drive from Alameda / San Fran. There is a fee for parking (I think it was $5 or $10). Once you are there, it has bathrooms, picnic areas, and a number of trails. Some are aggressively steep, but the main one runs pretty flat and is paved for part of the way, so if you have a pram or mobility issues, you can still enjoy the park.
The trees were amazing - was it as amazing as Humboldt, no. But it was still really nice.

cdc

Hi,
We traveled up to Mendocino to see the sea glass beach. The beach was a bit of a bust in that it did not live up to the hype - if we went there without any prompting from others, we might not have been as disappointed...
The town had lots of hotels and b and bs. It was crowded - in part due to the season and in part due to the fires forcing people out of their homes. We stayed at the Best Western. They had two cottages for families in addition to the standard rooms. The hotel has an indoor pool and includes a typical Best Western breakfast.
The town was neat in that it is home to two breweries. We went to one called overtime or over worked, or something like that. Food was really yummy and some fun beers to sample. It is small and not a place for quick service. We really enjoyed it.
There is a pretty lighthouse just south of Mendocino, which also includes an old home that they turned into a museum. It was really neat going there in the evening because we saw soooo many seals (?) just hanging out in the water, doing their evening play thing.
Further south is an old Russian fort, called Fort Ross. The kids enjoyed that, and it had a neat visitor center/ museum. We packed lunches -there is no food near the fort.
Just north of Mendocino is a ranch called Richochet Ranch. It is right off the main road. The kids did a really awesome ride (riders of all levels are welcome). They walked through the woods and then along the beach.
24201 N Highway 1, Fort Bragg · (707) 964-7669
There is a lot more to do in that area - including a train that goes into the redwood forest and other nature based adventures. We did more redwoods up in Humboldt so skipped it in Mendocino (where there were fires too).

5alive

Wow, I just looked at the ranch's website. You can ride among the redwoods. Very cool. I have to admit this is a part of the coast we have not seen.