Glass Beach
There’s more to it than just the glass
All the pretty little things…
When I was taking stock at the end of 2020 of all the blogs I had written over the previous 2 years, I realized that somehow the top tourist destination on the Mendocino coast had yet to make it onto my list of posts. “Huh!” I thought, “Well, THAT’S something I need to remedy this year!” I am, of course, talking about Glass Beach, that charming stretch of little rocky coves up in Fort Bragg that nearly every single first time visitor asks directions to, eager to scratch another well-known destination off their list. Why hadn’t I written about it before? To be honest, I’m not completely sure. I’ve been there plenty of times, and it lies along one of my favorite running routes up the coast… maybe I was just so used to it that it hadn’t really made it onto my radar yet of places to write about. Terrible excuse, I know, but how else can I explain such an egregious oversight?
Looking down on the first area of Glass Beach
Well, this week I’m making things right! So read on, dear friends, read on…
It was a dark and stormy night…. Just kidding. It was actually a brisk, overcast-ish afternoon when I met up with an old coworker out at the Glass Beach parking lot the other day. Her 13 year-old husky was excited to be out of the house and practically danced along the end of his leash as we meandered out to the bluffs and down the rocks to the north side of the beach, where there were fewer kids running around and fewer young couples sitting on the pebbly sand as they sifted through the rocks and shells to see how much of the fabled glass they could find. We found a secluded spot to park ourselves for a minute and do a little searching of our own, as full of excited curiosity as two little kindergartners as we found interesting shells and nubbins of the less common colors of glass. The occasional rusted piece of metal tucked into the rocks reminded us that this had once been the municipal dump, and my friend laughingly revealed that this gritty little piece of history was her favorite thing to tell visitors about Glass Beach.
Maybe we’re just novice shell enthusiasts, but we had never seen such a shimmery mussel shell before!
Chuckling, we stood up, brushed off our pants, and decided to see how far we could walk down this once trashy and now treasured little beach. It was then that we realized just how low the tide was – there were tons of exposed tide pools and rocky hiding places that would normally be underwater. It was so low that we could actually keep walking a goodly ways, scrambling over half dry rocks and making soggy footprints in the sand as we went from one rocky cove to the next. We gazed around in delight at the wonderland of unique rock formations, algae-covered grottos, softly lapping waves, and little streams of fresh water trickling down the cliffs beside us. And the dog, oh the dog! He was simply ecstatic over all the new space to run around and fascinating things to sniff at, racing back and forth with a giant puppy grin on his face, making us laugh ourselves silly with his antics. We agreed – low tide was definitely the best time to come out to Glass Beach.
So many neat nooks and crannies to explore!!!
For the uninitiated, there’s not nearly as much glass at Glass Beach as there used to be, as most of it has found its way into people’s pockets over time. It is, however, always a truly lovely area to go for a walk and appreciate the beauty of nature. Explore the meandering line of the dirt path along the cliff tops. Drink in the rugged beauty of the Mendocino coast in all its glory. Search through the pebbles and pieces of glass and leave them for others to enjoy as well.
And you, mysterious little disc of rust, what part do you play in the history of this beach?
If you want to explore as much as we did during our visit, go during a negative tide. We have a weekly tide chart printed out at the Front Desk of the inn for your reference, and Mendo Parks has also provided us with a stack of yearlong tide charts that you can take home and use to help you plan your next adventure.
Negative tide was the perfect time to go exploring…
If you want to get a longer day of exploration in, the trail that goes by Glass Beach is part of the Coastal Trail, which runs from Todd’s Point on the south side of the Noyo Harbor all the way north to 10 Mile Beach. That’s almost 10 miles one way if you stick to the winding twists and turns of the dirt trail, maybe closer to 8 if you stay on the paved trail. It’s a great stretch for a scenic bike ride, or a fantastic long distance run. There are, of course, several points along the way that you can access the trail – you don’t have to go that far if you aren’t feeling quite that ambitious. Stop at the Front Desk at the inn to get a map and have us show you all the different access points and highlights.
Words and pictures by Laura Hockett