Page 199 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2025 GRAND VOYAGE

“Each distinct terrace was uplifted from
sea level about 100,000 years before the
one below it. The terraces continue their
inevitable rise at the rate of an inch per
century.” This is the “Ecological Staircase,”
a true phenomenon, where hikers can ex-
plore three of the five terraces. “In gen-
eral, each terrace forms a unique habitat
for specific plants and animals and hikers
will see a wide variety of trees and vege-
tation — including Sitka spruce, red alder
and western hemlock,” according to the
reserve’s brochure.
Jug Handle reserve also offers a
shorter trail that heads directly to the
coast. Here the trail winds through pines to
reveal a beautiful beach in a protected
cove.
I ventured further north to Fort
Bragg, “the biggest little city on the Men-
docino Coast,” where there were a handful
of attractions I was excited about.
One of them was Glass Beach, a tiny
cove that used to be a town dump site. Af-
ter closure as a dump, the ocean
smoothed the glass shards that were left
behind. I was very excited to see this, but
alas, when I finally found it, right next to
MacKerricher State Park, a sign was
posted to say that most of the glass has
been taken and it went on to urge those
poachers to please return these pieces of Top:The Bluff House served as Jessica
coastal history. The steep dirt path down Fletcher’s house in “Murder She Wrote,”
the bluff to the beach looked a bit dicey to where Mendocino stood in for Cabot
me, so I decided to forego trying to view Cove. Opposite: A couple brave the
the last of the glass on Glass Beach. climb down onto Glass Beach, where
the city asks people not to take anymore
But MacKerricher State Park offered and in fact please return whatever
a beautiful stroll along the rocky coastal you’ve poached.
headlands. The park extends about nine
miles along the coast, where sandy
beaches and coves sit below the head-
lands. A Coastal Trail covers this area and
even heads into the Inglenook Fen-Ten Mile
Dune Natural Preserve — one of Northern
California’s most pristine stretches of sand
dunes.

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