Russian Gulch State Park
Russian Gulch State Park is a scenic coastal park located in California, known for its stunning ocean views, rugged cliffs, trails, and a picturesque waterfall. Russian Gulch Creek Canyon’s features include a beach, swimming, exploring tidal pools, skin diving, rock fishing, and a much-forested section of the park known as the Devil’s Punch Bowl. A waterfall may be found 36 feet high, located inland. Trails for hikers might stretch for kilometres. A three-mile bike path is completely paved and accessible in the park.
In 1933, land and money were donated to Russian Gulch State Park by A. Johnston and Mendocino County to leverage State Parks matching grants. An impressive 7,630 linear feet of coastline border the park’s 1,162 acres. The park has several rocky outcrops that jut into the Pacific, and many consider it to be the north coast’s answer to Point Lobos.
History of Russian Gulch State Park
Russian Gulch State Park has a historical connection to the Russians who 1811 founded Fort Ross. The area became known as Russian Gulch, but it was named after the lack of imagination from American cartographers. In 1852, Harry Meiggs built The Mendocino Coast’s redwood timber business at the sawmill on Big River.
It led to the emergence of various mills, including the Russian Gulch, which served as a stop for schooners travelling between San Francisco and Humboldt Bay, transporting goods, people, and lumber.
Trail At Russian Gulch State Park
From the campground to the falls and back is 6.5 miles with a 200-foot gain in height. Russian Gulch is a rich canyon in the Coastal Range full of redwoods, Douglas fir, and California laurel in their second generation. Under the tall trees, ferns, berry bushes, azaleas, and rhododendrons grow in the understory. A beautiful Coast Highway bridge frames the mouth of the canyon, making it look like a picture.
A collapsed wave tunnel may be seen on the headlands called The Punchbowl. It is a 100-foot-wide hole. It’s a beautiful sight when the waves come in and fill this blowhole. You can go through the canyon straight or more circuitously, and you can get to the waterfall in a longer or shorter way. The tracks can be put together to make a nice nine-mile park tour.
Address: CA-1, Mendocino, CA 95460, United States
Departments: Russian Gulch Bridge
Open-Closes: 7 am-9 pm
Management: California State Parks
