Pacifica is famous for its beautiful coastline and breathtaking vistas and fall is its season to shine! It often gets foggy, but now is actually a great time to visit.

We started our day at the Pacifica Municipal Pier. This is an active fishing pier, and at the right season you could see the migrating whales, but even just standing above the crushing waves is quite amazing. The only problem is that even my tall toddler could not see anything and had to be held all the time. Our visit was short, but fun. 

We continued to Mori Point. Most trails are short, flat and toddler and stroller friendly. Dogs are allowed, so you could make lots of furry friends along the trails.
We took the Old Mori Trail (1 mile round trip) and continues to the Coastal Trail (0.4 miles). Once we got to the coast we went down to Sharp Park Beach, got soaked, and headed back. Daniel was tired by now, so the way back was challenging, but he walked all the way back to our car! Whoohoo!
While on trail, keep your eyes open – we spotted 2 cute Brush Rabbits, lots of birds, and frogs in the ponds along the trail.

Lunch time! Gorilla BBQ, just a few minutes from Mori Point, offers a takeout barbeque from their converted rail car. Smokey meats and combo plates were great. The only con – nowhere to sit and dine! Our little one loved the brisket.

Last stop - Frontierland Park. Hidden in the mountains, this park offer lots of fun for the kids. With one of the nicest play structures, it is a great stop before heading back home.

Muir Woods

This national monument is beyond amazing. Wide boardwalk trails, beautiful nature and fascinating history makes it a great family adventure. 

Getting there 

Not too far from 1/101 exit, it is convenient to get there and easy to find.

There are a few parking lots, and some parking on the road, but they fill up quickly on weekends and other holidays. Try to get there earlier to get a parking spot.

Shuttle services are available on weekends & holidays during April-October. Check out the schedule and stops here. 

The trails 

There are a few trails to explore, but the Main Trail is easy and great for little explorers. The trail is a shaded and mostly a boardwalk path along Redwood Canyon.

The paved trail and boardwalk makes this trail stroller friendly, and the dense woods and fences makes it hard to go off-trail, so it’s great for toddlers running around.

The Redwood trees are magnificent. The Sequoias are the tallest, and one of the oldest, living things on earth. Signs with great information about the trees and times in history make the trail great for parents, too.

There is a Giant California you can “stand inside”. Daniel loved it! 

There are 4 bridges along the trails, so it is easy to adjust the length of the trails to your family’s needs. Once you’re ready to go back, just cross the bridge and walk the other side of the creek back to the park’s entrance.

Deer, chipmunks, squirrels, birds, lizards, and banana slugs are commonly seen, so keep your eyes open! Daniel loved playing with the friendly chipmunks next to the visitor center!

If you are looking for longer trails, try the Canopy View to Lost Creek or Fern Creek. With elevation gain of 350-530ft, they are a little more challenging for little kids, but doable with carriers. 

Children’s Activities

There are two great activity books available at the visitor center.

Redwood Discovery: A Quest at Muir Woods (for kids 6-12 years old) 

Solve the rhyming riddles, learn some of the secrets of the Woods, and find the treasure box! The activity book is available for free at the visitor center. 

Become a Junior Ranger (for kids 4-11 years old) 

Complete this activity book and head to the visitor center to get sworn in as an official Junior Ranger. You will also get a cool wooden badge! The activity book is available for free at the visitor center. 

Weather

Even on a warm day, it’s cold and moist in the groves, so make sure to bring extra layers.

Visitor Center, Gift Shop and Café

Visitor Center: Stop at the Visitor Center for maps and other information about the park and trails. This is where you’ll get the Junior Ranger Activity Book and Badge and the Quest Map (more information under Children’s Activities).

Restrooms: There are two restrooms - one in the parking lot and another adjacent to the gift shop. Both were very clean and had changing tables. 

Gift Shop: The gift shop is adjacent to the café and is pretty big, with nice selection of items for children. I always buy something small for Daniel to play with on our way home, and also as a conversation starter about the places we visit and activities we do. It’s not always easy to find something small and inexpensive, but here it was hard to choose just one!

Café: Wide variety of organic snacks, sandwiches made with local cheeses, muffins, coffee and delicious hot chocolate! Outside the cafe there are wooden bears to play on and with - lots of fun!

 

Hours 

Park hours vary by season. The park is open 8am-5pm year long, with extended hours during the summer.

The Visitor Center closes 30 minutes before Muir Woods.

Admission 

$10/Adult, 15 and under – free. Annual passes available, check out the information here.

Monarch Butterflies Observation at Ulistac Natural Area

Going out to the nature is probably the best thing you can do with your child. We try to go on short hikes every weekend, but this one was never on my list. A friend who lives close by suggested and I was amazed by this local beauty.

Ulistac Natural Area is known as the last forest in Santa Clara, and is a lovely spot to watch and count Monarch butterflies and explore in an unhurried manner. 

If you walk through the garden and creek area, you will see several numbered Monarch Observation signs. These particular areas are typically where you can observe the most Monarch activity while at Ulistac. We saw 3 Monarch and plenty other butterflies, bugs, birds and plants, climbed trees and smelled the flowers. 

We had a great time and we heard the Monarch population is usually more active, and even though we only saw 3, I highly recommend this hike!

The path is wide and you can bring a stroller. It is mostly in the sun, so choose a day accordingly, and don’t forget your hats, sunscreen and water.

Mendocino County Weekend Getaway

Since my darling husband got an extra day off for 4th of July weekend, we decided to take a longer vacation trip than what we did so far with Daniel. We wanted to take a break from the busyness we have had going on lately, and this weekend on our calendar has helped keep us sane! We had a wonderfully relaxing and restful time together.

California is blessed with many top-notch kid-friendly tourist destinations, so it wasn’t easy to choose, but very easy to plan!
 
We traveled to Fort Bragg on Friday afternoon, to beat Saturday morning’s traffic, and it was a great idea! Daniel napped in the car and it seemed like only a few got there as early as we did, because hotel parking and restaurants were empty. 

The drive to Mendocino coast took us almost 5 hours, and since all roads to the coast are very curvy, I would consider traveling somewhere else if you have children who get nauseated easily.

It was very cold, even in July, so make sure you bring lots of layered clothing! We didn’t get lots of sun, and we had to buy extra fleece layers so we will be able to enjoy all that we planned.

Our days were full of discovery, hiking and relaxing, and a four day weekend flew by with so much left to do for the next visit.

Hiking in Van Damme State Park

VanDamme State Park is a classic northern California rain forest located right across from the Pacific Ocean. It is home to redwoods and fern, songbirds, mountain lions, snakes, bears and salmon.

We started with Fern Canyon Trail.
Tip: Drive to the last parking lot and start the hike at the trail-head and save yourself a 10-15 minute walk from the Visitor Center.
The trail is about 5 miles, level, wide and well-marked, made up of broken concrete and wooden bridges, so it is stroller friendly.
The beautiful trail follows the Little River into the fern-carpeted canyon filled with young redwoods, red alder, big leaf maple and Douglas fir as well as many wild berry bushes. Along the trail, there are 10 bridges to cross, but we didn’t make it all the way, since we didn’t take the stroller with us and Daniel got tired. Even without finishing the Fern Canyon hike as we planned, it is very nice, cool, with lots of spots to go into the water and lots of exploring to do. Daniel enjoyed the hike. Most exciting for him were a snake we saw, a few fallen trees he played with as slides, going into the river and banana slugs. All around, this is a very kid-friendly hike.

Fern Canyon Trail

Fern Canyon Trail

After getting back to the car, we decided to change plans, and instead of heading back, to explore the Pygmy Forest Trail. Pygmy Forest is located 3 miles away, and it is a national landmark. The trail is a ¼ mile long elevated wooden walkway, perfect for toddlers and strollers. Dwarf cone bearing cypress and pine trees are the main attractions and although they are over 100 years old, it looks like a young forest. The soil these trees grow in is between 500,000 to 1,000,000 years old. The educational signage about the Pygmy Forest were interesting, and the trail is very short, so we were able to get back to our car and drive up to our hotel in time for nap.

Pygmy Forest Trail

Skunk Train
Since Daniel is a train lover, we could not miss this popular attraction. We took the 1 hour scenic train ride. It is really pretty ride through the redwoods, along the creek. There are other and longer options, but we wanted to get back early enough for bed time.
Once we were back from our train ride, we crossed the tracks to a the model museum. It is not fancy, but lots of fun! Admission is free with a Skunk Train ticket. Daniel enjoyed walking (and running) around a large G-Scale layout with over 1300ft of track. He loved finding out that one of the model trains is the one we just came off. The kids did not want to leave! One parent after another had to carry away a crying, yelling, kicking child away. And yes, so did we.

Skunk Train

Beachcomb at Glass Beach
This beach used to be Fort Bragg’s city trash dump site, and the waves created ocean-smoothed colored glass. This is a great kid’s destination. Daniel loved playing there, so we spent almost two hours playing with seaglass, exploring the tide pools and watching seal pups playing in the water.
When browsing attractions before our trip, friends told us not to go there because it's too crowded. Well, I think that if expectations are not too high, you will enjoy your visit to Glass Beach. The parking lot was full, but we easily found street parking close by. If you don’t expect a mile-long carpet of multi-hued seaglass, you will enjoy the colorful mixture of seaglass, shells and rocks.

Glass Beach

Point Cabrillo Light Station
The Point Cabrillo Light Station was built after the 1906 earthquake to guide San Francisco-bound cargo ships carrying lumber. It’s a 10-15 minute walk from the parking lot to the lighthouse where friendly docents show the exhibits and tell the lighthouse history to kids. The tower is closed for climbing but there are hiking paths on the bluffs, and a (very) small aquarium.

The road to the lighthouse is paved and stroller friendly. If you don't want to walk 20 minutes form the parking lot to the lighthouse, drive to the handicapped parking lot right next to the lighthouse. Although the road signs don't show it, there are a few regular parking spots next to the handicapped parking spots. 

It’s possible to rent one of the keeper’s homes for a vacation stay. That looked like an interesting choice, so we will surely remember it for our next vacation!
 

Point Cabrillo Light Station

Haul Road (Silvergate Trail)
This popular beach in MacKerricher State Park doesn’t have an official name. This trail was a nice 1 mile that was perfect for stretching legs, seeing flowers, exploring beetles and getting some views – though the fog blocked most of the panoramas. There is beach access, but we stayed on the bridge/trail. We did come back to play in the beach and sand dunes later. To access the trail, park at the Beachcomber Motel and cross the bridge to the other side.

Silvergate Trail

Downtown Mendocino
This beautiful downtown features architecture which dates from the 1850s. You’ll see grand Victorians (now primarily upscale B&Bs), Saltbox houses, and the characteristic water towers. There is also a vibrant artist community: It’s the place to go for one-of-a-kind works of art, so be sure to peek in the galleries and art stores.
We visited the downtown during the 4th of July’s parade which was much fun!

4th of July Parade
Somewhere around 2000 people (double the population) line the streets of Mendocino (Main St. & Lansing St.) to watch this kooky hometown parade. Make sure to come early to get a good spot. After the parade, head to the fire department for BBQ!

4th of July Parade in Downtown Mendocino

World’s Largest Salmon BBQ
The annual World's Largest Salmon BBQ is sponsored by the Salmon Restoration Association to raise money to take positive action to restore salmon to the rivers and streams. Great food, live music and a love of the outdoors are all part of the atmosphere at the barbecue. Make sure to get your tickets in advance! At the end of the event, head to Fort Bragg’s main bridge for the fireworks over the ocean. It was Daniel’s first time watching fireworks and it was very exciting! The fireworks show is about 45 minutes, and make sure you stay all the way to the end, as it gets much nicer when it’s completely dark outside. This event happens the first Saturday of July, so the fireworks are not necessarily on Independence Day.

First time watching fireworks!

Mendocino Botanical Gardens
Beautiful gardens with an ongoing Fairy House Project where kids can let their imagination and creativity run free.

B. Bryan Preserve
African Safari tour starts in the barn, where you climb into an antiquated open-air Land Rover to drive around the preserve and see 3 types of antelopes (kudu, sable and roan), two types of zebras (Grevy’s zebras and mountain zebras) and Giraffes. This is up-close-and-personal encounter with dozens of majestic animals without having to travel 6,000 miles to Africa.
1.5 hours tours run daily at 9:30am and 4:30pm, reservations are required. They also have two lovely cottages that they rent out.

 
We loved Mendocino County, and with so much more to explore - we will be back soon. Do you have any coastal favorites or tips? Please share in the comments! :)

Xx
Sarah