Top Four Things to Do in Fort Bragg, California

There are plenty of places to eat, from expensive hydrid cuisine in top-of-the-line restaurants, to cheap burritos, along with bookstores, gift shops and places to find exotic curios, but what does Fort Bragg offer in the way of free activities?

Probably the best thing the visitor can do without paying is to spend time on the local beaches. From Hare Creek, at the south end of town, to MacKerricher State Park, with its black, gravelly sand, blending into the extensive Ten Mile dunes area, local beaches offer miles of uncrowded beachcombing, places to rockfish, hidden coves perfect for picnicking or napping, with easy access, free parking and nearby amenities to make any day, foggy or sunny, an ideal family experience.

A local favorite is Glass Beach, left over from the days when the town dump was located on the bluffs. 40 years after the dump was closed, the beach is still composed of polished glass chips, and almost any day you'll find people crouched, digging through layers of old glass. Artists especially enjoy finding that perfect assortment of chips to compose collages.

Those who'd prefer to walk on solid ground are able to enjoy the second-most popular attraction: long walks on the headlands. An ambitious hiker can depart along the haul road, just north of Pudding Creek, and walk the whole length, a full-day's work, either as part of a group or enjoying splendid isolation. It's hard to get lost, with the ocean on one side and dunes on the other, but it can be fascinating to explore the grasses, finding signs of jackrabbits, deer and other wildlife. If solitude is what you want, this is the way to get it. It's a simple matter to slip into the dunes and spend an entire day wandering with little prospect of seeing another human being. Under the open sky, it never feels like you're leaving humanity completely behind, but it's easy to put all your concerns on the back burner while you keep out of sight. It's a good idea to bring plenty of water and some snacks.

Third would have to be spending a day along the river, swimming in fresh water or wandering back into the woods. To get to Big River, head out county road 409, south of Caspar, and pass through Jackson State Forest to find Boyle's camp or the old Boy Scout camp. The state forest extends over the Big and Noyo rivers, and the headwaters of Hare Creek, with miles of well-maintained logging roads where it's possible to find semi-developed campsites and picnic areas.

If you're coming in on state route 20, stop at Camp 20, where Chamberlain Creek enters the upper Big River, and spend a few hours under the shady redwoods or examining the display of vintage logging equipment, plainly visible from the highway, about 15 miles east of route 101 at Willits.

Visitors in late winter can make a day of hunting wild edible mushrooms throughout Jackson State, with many points of entry located along route 20. Yellow, white, black and blue chanterelles grow in profusion, especially along the higher ridges. It's important to know your mushrooms, and to avoid the ones you don't know, but it doesn't take long to be able to identify chanterelles, hedgehogs, oyster mushrooms and boletes, which are all common. More discriminating hunters can find the elusive matsutake or cauliflower mushroom in many of the same areas.

Finally, birdwatchers find much to interest them, from the seabirds like cormorants, murres and pelicans, shoredwelling turnstones and plovers, cosmpolitan ravens, active and curious, a variety of stellar's jays, famous as camp-robbers but full of playful antics, and valley quail, thrushes, robins, finches and a wide variety of other resident or seasonal birds. What you'll see flying over depends partly on the time of year you visit, but you'll always find something.