Sue-meg State Park (formerly Patrick's Point State Park) is a in

Humboldt County, California Humboldt County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,463. The county seat is Eureka. Humboldt County comprises the Eureka–Arcata–Fortuna, California Micropolitan Statistica ...

near Trinidad on the

Redwood Coast The North Coast of California (also called the Redwood Empire or the Redwood Coast in reference to the dense redwood forests throughout the region) is a region in Northern California that lies on the Pacific coast between San Francisco Bay and th ...

, situated on a lushly forested promontory above the Pacific Ocean. The park is home to many tree species including

coastal redwoods ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

Sitka spruce ''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to almost tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth-larg ...

, western hemlock, pine, grand fir,

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

, red alder and wildflower meadows, with a shoreline that consists of sandy beaches and sheer cliffs against the Pacific Ocean. Amenities include hiking trails, a recreated Yurok Village, a native plant garden, visitor center, three family campgrounds, two group camps, a camp for hikers and bicyclists, accessible beaches, lookout points, and three group picnic areas.

History

Sue-meg is the original place name used by the Yurok people. In the modern Yurok orthography, it is spelled ''Suemeeg,'' pronounced �umiɣor �umij Patrick Beegan, an Irish immigrant who came from the Mississippi Valley in 1851, referred to the area as Patrick's Ranch. After encountering wild potato, "Old Patrick," as he was known to the residents of the Trinidad area, decided to stop and file a preemption claim to the land. Beegan's claim to the land was first recorded in the Trinidad Record Book on January 13, 1851, and the first official mention of Patrick's Point on the Humboldt County map was in 1886. Another narrative attributes the name to Patrick McLaughlin, a squatter who arrived in the area in the 1870s and is credited with planting the first apple trees in the area. Efforts to protect the wooden region and coastal rock formations led to the establishment of the park, ultimately encompassing an area of , originally named Patrick's Point State Park. Later, requests that the park be renamed because Patrick Beegan had been accused of murdering several Indigenous Americans led to a name change. Sue-meg, reflecting the original Yurok name for the land, became official by unanimous vote of the California State Parks and Recreation Commission in 2021.

References

External links

California State Parks pageNorth Coast Redwood Interpretive Association
{{authority control California State Reserves California State Beaches State parks of California Parks in Humboldt County, California Beaches of Humboldt County, California Beaches of Northern California

History

See also

References

External links