Glass Beach
Fort Bragg, California
Description
Added by Juan Moreno
Glass Beach on the Northern California coast offers colorful sea glass, powerful waves crashing on sea cliffs, and plenty of stops for food and beverages nearby.
Glass Beach is located at MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg, CA along the Pacific Coast Highway in Northern California. Take Elm street toward the beach and the parking lot entrance for glass beach will be located on the left at the bend. From here, its a short walk on some pathways.
This beach is a truly unique experience that blends local history, the power of the Pacific Ocean, and natural beauty. For the first half of the 20th century, local residents dumped trash into this area and over many years the waves tossed and rolled the remnants into smooth, colorful beads that now litter the beach. The kaleidoscopic sand, easy access, and always epic Northern California coast make Glass Beach an ideal sunset locale. There is very little glass left in the main area of Glass beach but if you look for other ways down, you can find the newer pots that have plenty of glass.
Getting there is easy - park at the corner of West Elm St. and Glass Beach Rd. and make the easy walk down Glass Beach Trail.
Even better, getting to a cold beer after sunset is just as easy. North Coast Brew Co. is just a 2 minute drive or pleasant 10-15 minute stroll through town.
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Reviews
Beautiful beach! Despite signs to not take glass off the beach we saw a bunch of people with bags to take it home :( I've talked to people who've been going for decades and they say there's a LOT less glass than there used to be.
4.0
Beautiful beach made up of lots of little alcoves surrounded by small sea cliffs, giving you the feeling that each one is your own little private beach! Down toward the south end is where you'll find the glass for which the beach is named for. The sunset here, with the receding light glittering off all the bits of colored glass, is truly unique!
4.0
I love Glass Beach in Fort Bragg and try to stop by anytime I'm in the area. Sidenote- they gave away a trip here as the grand prize on The Price is Right a while back! It's a gorgeous little beach, very easy to get to, plenty of parking. The beach is kind of small, but if you like exploring there are plenty of other beach areas around the rocks (careful of the tide!). It is worth noting that you are not supposed to take the sea glass home with you, which personally I think is pretty funny since it's just sea polished trash (but oh so pretty!). There are alot of restaurants nearby as well- grab something to-go and a 6-pack from North Coast Brewery right down the street or David's Deli maybe a mile further south.
Leave No Trace
Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!
Nearby
Mackerricher State Park
Camp at Russian Gulch State Park
Mendocino Headlands Trail
Mendocino Cliffs Trail
Explore Big River Beach
Kayak Mendocino's Big River
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