MacKerricher State Park-Pinewood Campground

MacKerricher State Park has three campground loops with over 100 sites. Like many older parks the campsite parking pads are short so RVs longer than 35' will not fit.  We chose to camp in one of accessible sites for the level, paved parking pad and the sunny location. The accessible sites at this park seem to be only reservable by phone or in person which is good for non-planners like us.

The Ten Mile Haul Road was our main reason for visiting the park. It's usual to find such a long accessible trail along the ocean bluffs. The paved haul trail can be accessed from the campground by a hard packed sandy trail near site 91. Wheelchair users may need assistance due to a short drop off from the campground road. The trail goes north for about a mile before it drops down to the beach and is no longer accessible. This is the boundary of the Inglenook Fen-Ten Mile Dunes Preserve and the haul road has been removed to protect rare plants and animals.

 

  

        

   Heading south the haul trail goes down to Mill Creek Drive and to get to the rest of the trail you must follow the road up a pretty steep incline. The campground map shows a continuous trail but the bridge over the beach has been long gone. Drive south on Route 1 to the parking lot near Pudding Creek Trestle for easier access to the southern portion of the trail.

  The campground map also shows a trail around Lake Cleone. This trail has not been maintained and is not usable by anyone.

 There's a really nice 3/4 mile boardwalk trail to Laguna Point for whale watching in April and access to the tide pools. This is also a good place to watch seals. Most RVs will fit in the last row of spaces. Long RVs will fit in the lot by Lake Cleone but getting to the boardwalk involves pushing up the steep incline on Mill Creek Drive. Park  39.49195, -123.791

Ten Mile Haul Road Trail

The huge redwood trees on the northern California coast provided the main source of jobs and revenue for the city of Fort Bragg from the late 1800s until the Georgia Pacific mill shut down in 2002. All that's left of the mill is a large plot of contaminated and fenced off land where the mill once stood and an old railroad bed that has been turned into a wonderful walking/biking trail. The railroad was built in 1916 for log trains running from the Ten Mile River log camps to the Fort Bragg mill. The railroad bed was later converted to a private road and used by oversized log trucks from the 1940s to the 1980s.

When the mill was operating coastal access for people living in Fort Bragg was blocked by the mill's property. After the mill closed the whole town was involved in deciding how to utilize the mill property. One thing most people agree on was setting aside the coastal bluff as a public space. The Ten Mile Haul Road, part of MacKerricher State Park, goes south from the park and joins the city managed Noyo Point Road trail. Together they make about six miles of wide, smooth, and mostly level trail with sweeping views of the ocean.

We started the trail at MacKerricher State Park where access is not ideal due to a washed out section so I recommend the parking lot 100' north of the Pudding Creek Trestle as a better access point. From this point you can go north on the Haul Road Trail or south on the Noyo Point trail. The trails are accessible but there is hill at Virgin Creek Beach where the trail dips down.We did not do the entire trail but turned around shortly after the trestle.

The parking lot is large enough for any RV. Trail  39.46148, -123.80668

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

The garden covers 47 acres - half of it planted with carefully tended collections and the other half allowed to grow in a more natural state. We happened to visit at the peak of the rhododendron bloom which was amazing. The garden has over 124 species of rhododendrons; some can only grow in a very small area of North America.

 Other unusual gardens include heath and heather, and a grouping of pitcher plants.

        Most of the paths are hard packed dirt and crushed stone. They are fairly easy to roll along, even the smaller ones that wind in between the plants. However there are some problem areas. The perennial garden is planted with thick grass but it can be viewed from the plaza. The paths in the vegetable garden are surfaced with mulch which makes pushing very difficult. Two parallel trails go to the coastal buff trail. The north trail and all of the trails connecting the north and south trails are too steep for wheelchairs, strollers and scooters. They are all clearly marked at the intersections as too steep and the supplied map has the accessible trails marked.

 

The main parking lot is too small for RVs. There is lot for oversized vehicles but it was closed off when we visited. We managed to fit in the accessible space. Call ahead to make sure you can get a parking space if you're traveling with your RV.

We drove from Willits, CA to the garden in Fort Bragg along Route 20 which is about 35 miles of very winding road. It's doable with an RV but be prepared to go slow and take advantage of the well marked turn outs. Garden  39.40913, -123.8094

Robinson Rancheria Casino

RV parking is at the far end of the lot with peaceful view of a meadow where sheep graze in the late afternoon but there is traffic noise because it's so close to Route 20. Leveling may be necessary. No need to check in.

Some aisles in the casino are a little too close together so when people are seated on either side there isn't enough room for a wheelchair to past through. The chairs are awkward to move but employees and customers are happy to help. Most of the money and card slots are easy to reach. Casino 39.14353, -122.88252

Clear Lake State Park

Clear Lake is the largest and oldest natural freshwater lake in California. The state park campground has 147 sites with all the usual amenities except for hookups. The restrooms have flush toilets and pay showers. There's also a dump station. Water activities include boating, swimming, and fishing. 

Two trails are designated as accessible. We accessed the Kelsey Creek Trail near site 57 in Kelsey Creek Campground and found a washed-out portion a short distance in. The good portion can be accessed near site 48 or site 27. The trail is a combination of packed dirt and boardwalk with poor transitions between the two. We did not go on the Dorn Natural Trail which also is designated as accessible. The visitor center was closed. 

   

The campground has seven accessible sites. We did not camp in an accessible site but found that the wide paved parking pads, high fire rings, tables with extended tops, and hard, level ground made most sites usable by campers with wheelchairs. Park  39.01818, -122.80715