Spring Break road trips are always a gamble. We never know what the weather is going to be like and while we usually end up with fantastic weather, sometimes it rains and we have to adjust our plans.
This spring break, when we woke up on our first day in Fort Bragg, it was lightly raining and the Guest House Museum wasn’t open yet, so we decided to drive over to explore the headlands and steep rocky cliffs of Pomo Bluffs Park and Noyo Headlands Park.
Pomo Bluffs Park, with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean, covers the 25 acres of land south of Noyo Bay. A paved trail follows the edge of the bluffs to scenic lookout points, interpretive displays, and viewing benches.
Around the park is a scattering of houses. When we arrived, a light rain was dusting the ground, fog was hugging the cliffs, and a herd of deer were scattered across the yards in the small neighborhood. We grabbed our umbrellas and hit the trail to check out the gorgeous Pacific coastline and Noyo Harbor, and to see if we could spot any gray whales.
Pomo Bluffs Park is located on Todd Point, a great whale watching spot during the gray whale migration from February through April. A local shopkeeper told us later in our trip that Todd Point is also called Chicken Point by residents because it was often used by seafarers to check and see if ocean looked safe enough to go out on — if the ocean looked too rough, the person would chicken out and stay on land!
Know Before You Go
Pomo Bluffs Park:
- Pomo Bluffs Park at Todd Point is located at 19301 Cliff Way, Fort Bragg, California 95437 in Mendocino County.
- A Pomo Bluffs Park park sign marks the entrance to the 25 acre coastal cliff area just south of the Noyo Harbor bridge.
- Open dawn to dusk with free parking and free access.
- Trailhead for the roughly 0.5 mile easy, flat, paved walking/biking trail leaves from the east end of the parking area.
- There are benches along the short trail, interpretive signs, vault restrooms, views of the Pacific Ocean and Noyo Harbor Beach, and additional dirt trails.
- Dogs are allowed on leash and must be cleaned up after.
