Kids Activities in Mendocino and Fort Bragg
Whether you are visiting or a resident, Mendocino is a great place to share with kids.
It’s a clear gorgeous day on the Mendocino coast and you look at your little one and wonder where to go and what sort of trouble to get into? Muddy trouble? Sandy trouble? Misty trouble?
Perhaps it is a windy, foggy day that makes your nose pink and your ears tingle. All the same, it is time to grab a scarf, a sweater, and a hat and take your double-digit-nearly-teen human out of the door to discover.
As the mom of a little boy living on the coast, if I’m not careful I hear the dreaded words: “I’m bored.” There’s no reason to be bored in a wonderland such as this, so let me list the many ways one can have fun around here!
(I’m focusing this post less on scenery and more on interactive ways to spend an afternoon)
Build a Fort at Navarro Beach
This beach is full of driftwood! Mighty, hundred-foot logs that kids walk on like balance beams, one of which has just enough spring to feel like a trampoline at the end.
There’s driftwood of all sizes. Every time I’ve gone to this beach I find a different configuration of driftwood sculptures. Sometimes the logs have been stuck straight upwards in the sand, making a Stonehedge-like circle. Other times, some lone artist has made triangular lean-tos, or a square fishing hut, or low squat barrack.
There is a lot of beach to be had. A large climbable rock sits at the bottom of the river. One spring day, we were lucky enough to see whales spawning. If you walk along the shore of the river, accessible from the beach, you will sometimes see fish swimming in the shallows.
Where does all this driftwood come from you ask? The logs themselves come from a few different sources, some of them were specifically put in the river by the fish and wildlife department. Trees in the river can help restore habitat for salmon and other native species by giving them a place to spawn, protected from the rushing current. Some of the logs come from the redwood forests upstream as a natural occurrence as the years go by, and some are vestiges of the logging industry of old. In olden times, the logs were put into the river and then heaved onto a now-vanished railway that ran along the coast at the turn of the century towards Elk, a tiny town previously known as Greenwood.
The river that feeds Navarro Beach is a stunning, wide historically significant river that runs through Anderson Valley, through Navarro River Redwood State Park before spilling out in a wide mouth at the Beach. An estuary river, it is affected by the tides. There is a unique sand bar that builds up at the beach which has been the subject of much study and debate.
When it is intact, the sandbar can be crossed and one can walk to all sides of the cove. The rough waters of the pacific tumble sand high onto the shore, slamming against a steep shore. (This is not a safe beach for swimming with little ones, and likely not adults either.) When enough sand accumulates, it can close the river mouth, and cause the river to disconnect from the sea.
When that happens, flooding on the 128 where it meets Highway 1 is more likely, especially at high tide, or during storms. Much debate has occurred over “breaching” the sand bar. Read more about that here: https://www.mendocinobeacon.com/2015/06/04/navarro-river-sand-bar-focus-of-debate/
We tend not to go deeper than our ankles or knees at this beach, unless we are at the river side. But the driftwood and intense wildness of this place makes it our family’s favorite beach in Mendocino.
Big River Beach – Float, Frolic, Swim
Big River, on the river side, is one of the most kid-friendly beaches for swimming on the Mendocino coast.
A few advantages, well, more than a few: This beach can be accessed via a set of wooden stairs that connect to the quaint town of Mendocino, which has a park, a grocery store, and a number of kid-friendly restaurants. There is a ton of parking and it is free. If you visit in August you just might be able to come for a nighttime visit and see the bioluminescent algae that grows, I mean GLOWS, in these waters. This beach is never the same! The tides change the shape of the shore. During low tide, there are huge wide swaths of wet sand to run along. During high tide, you might take an elevated path between the river and the ocean.
Most of all, this beach is two beaches: the westerly pacific ocean-facing “beach-beach” and the river side. On the river’s mouth there is a dock that is home to kayak and canoe rentals managed by catch-a-canoe.com. Or bring your own paddleboard, canoe, or kayak and enter on the river side.
This is an estuary river, which means this river swells and rises in time with the tides. Look at the tide charts and schedule your float accordingly. If you time it right, you can have the rising, incoming tide assist you and help usher you upriver, and when the tide turns, you can use the outgoing tide to help you come back to your starting point on the beach.
Full Disclosure: I was terrified to take my little one kayaking solo as an inexperienced kayaker. (I’d only been once before). I made sure we both had well-fitting life jackets and triple checked the tide charts. We did just fine, even learning to paddle in synch as we floated in the clear turquoise waters alongside the grasses, little islands, framed on two sides by the glorious forest. It was far easier to paddle with the tide than against it.
My son wanted a mountain lion to come down and drink from the river before our very eyes. I told him that had been known to happen, but was more likely on a hot day, and far more likely higher up the river than mom’s arms were going to take us. It was a serene, sublime blast. I’d recommend this as a must-do for anyone who has an inkling to try and a child who loves wildlife and the water.
The birds were plenty and we even saw a blue heron up close! Last but not least, when we returned there was a few folks blowing giant bubbles on the shore!
Big River Beach ~ Hwy 1 and Big River Rd, Mendocino
Catch-a-Canoe 1 S Big River Rd. Mendocino ~ 707-937-0273
Play Mini Golf at Emerald Dolphin
http://www.emeralddolphin.com/mini-golf—arcade.html
Air Hockey. Need I say more? Well, here I go! This place is fun-central. It has an 18 hole mini-golf course with an active waterway running through it. Even experienced players are likely to end up with a ball in the blue, chasing after it as it cascades down into one of the pools. Fortunately, there are nets handy for retrieving one’s colorful ball, so that you can play, play, play on down the course.
Mindset Tip: Convince yourself it will not be an easy course beforehand so you and the young ones can enjoy the successes you do have. You have to shoot the ball across bridges, under an overpass of sorts, and through a hole. The worst hole, or shall I say the most difficult hole, is one with a small platform that is like a round mesa. Even if you get the ball onto the mesa it rolls right past your desired goal and zips away again, i.e. there is no putting. You either sink it or shoot again. A windy day can make it even harder!
If you need shelter, there’s an arcade chockfull of pinball machines, toys, and trinkets to purchase, drinks and snacks. The arcade games from motorbike rides to mock duck hunting. I’m going to mention Air Hockey again because it is the best fun a dollar can buy in my humble opinion.
We spend an embarrassing amount of time here. It just never gets old. Oh! And they do birthday parties! With themes!
Ride The Skunk Train
Skunk Train ~ 100 West Laurel Street, Fort Bragg
The World-famous historic skunk train offers unforgettable rides. The Train conductor and ticket takers are dressed in quintessential train operator garb, with the conductor’s hat and all.
The red sides of the train have a skunk painted on them, and the black engine leads the way, a sight for locomotive enthusiasts the world around!
Established in 1885, the train meanders slowly through old-growth redwoods and along Pudding Creek. Pudding creek is an unhurried creek whose waters have a milky appearance. Some say it is named for the likeness of the river waters to creamy chocolate pudding. Others say it is due to the dumping patterns of locals from years gone by. What was once “Put in,” meaning put-trash-in-creek, became “Pudding Creek.” Either way, the air is fresh and moist. The vines and understory are lush and the trees majestic.
There is a beautiful, and somewhat steep hiking trail through the redwoods that goes in a loop up a north-facing slope. You might catch sight of a banana slug on the trail, see some old-growth roots and burl wood, or even spot a trillium flower growing on the forest floor.
The skunk train got its name because the locals used to say you could smell it coming. One can indeed smell the Diesel-Electric engines that help power the train as it chugs along.
There is a nice selection of drinks, popcorn, and snacks aboard. In the middle of the train is an “open-air car” where you can stand outside and see the sky as you ride along. My son and I saw a huge turkey vulture last time we took the ride. Round trip, if you do not get off the train and go on the hike it runs about 75 minutes.
Also worth mentioning is the far newer rail bike option that the skunk train is now offering.
Costs: The pudding creek express runs 41.95 per adult rider and 25.95 per child aged 2-12 years. The pudding creek rail bike trips start at $250 for a two-person bike, with no discount for sole riders.
Book tickets or find out more at: https://www.skunktrain.com
Visit the Noyo Science Center
The Noyo science center is an incredible organization of marine biologists, conservationists, educators, and volunteers. They have a walk-in discovery center in downtown Fort Bragg. Very worth the visit! Even if you are NOT into the killer whale skeleton they have on display, there is a series of intimate educational exhibits about the local oceans.
Not too far away – the brave might walk it – there is Noyo’s second location, the Crow’s Nest Interpretive Center. This location has a tide pool with live sea anemones and a deck for whale watching.
Check their calendar of events, as you might be able to catch a docent tour or lecture that will walk you down to their in-progress blue whale skeleton exhibit. Years ago a blue whale washed up on Fort Bragg’s shores, inside a local cove. This blue whale skeleton is one of the few complete collections that exist in the world and Noyo is currently working to be able to complete and eventually display the massive, inspiring blue whale skeleton in its full glory.
(https://noyocenter.org/events/blue-whale-bones-exhibit/)
They also host a variety of events that include beach clean-ups, and family discovery days, even a packed summer camp each year. Check out their website to see what’s happening.
Dig in Sea Glass at Glass Beach
End of Glass Beach Dr, Fort Bragg
A memorable visit, Glass Beach is a Fort Bragg favorite. This beach is the site of the old dump, and so the beach “sand” is actually made of tiny pieces of colorful sea glass. When you look out at the myriad rocks and very rough waves pounding against them, it is easy to imagine how the glass bottles dumped there so long ago quickly went from sharp to smooth sea glass.
There are coves, ridges, blue and white water, active waves, and typically a strong wind. Most of the blue glass was picked by naughty visitors of years past, but you will see red, gold, white, clear, and green glass “sand” galore.
If you are so inclined, it can be fun to bring buckets and shovels and dig down a bit to see what treasures were once someone else’s trash.
Go Horseback Riding at Ricochet Ranch
This is a spectacular way to spend an afternoon with kids six and up. For a full account, read my blog post: https://imrandemo.wpsvaomega.com/2022/02/23/horseback-riding-at-ricochet-ranch/
707-964-7669 – 24201 N Hwy 1, Ft. Bragg
Take a ride on the beach or a local trail. Check out https://horse-vacation.com Trail Rides aren’t cheap ($60 a pop) but they are memorable! You ride along the beach on horseback.
