Van Damme State Park - California

Address:Highway 1
Mendocino, California
Tel: (707) 937-5804

Torrey Pines is 2,000 acres of land, preserved the way it looked before the development of the surrounding city. As a result, the Park is filled with chaparral and Torrey Pine forests as well as beautiful beaches with water considered almost semi-tropical. The eight miles of trails here are great for wildlife viewing and the rock formations on the beach bluffs are a sensational sight, covered with periwinkles, Acorn Barnacles and Limpets, to name a few. There are also countless shrubs growing here, including Black Sage, Bush Sunflower, and Lemonadeberry. The nature preserved at Torrey Pines State Reserve is an incredible island of wilderness that should definitely not be missed.

Van Damme State Park consists of beach and upland on the Mendocino Coast. Of all park system units along the Mendocino coast, Van Damme is perhaps the richest in terms of historical resources connected with the redwood lumber industry. Its story is a prime example of the struggles and eventual failures of a small, independent lumber operation.