Caspar Headlands State Beach is a protected

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

in the state park system of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. It is located in Northern California in

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists whol ...

near the village of Caspar. The park was established in 1972.

History

In the early part of the twentieth century, the area was used for logging. The logging operations ceased in 1955. In March 1939 after the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge, the area of California north of the Golden Gate was open to exploration by automobile. Prior to that time, roads into the area were crude or non-existent. In 1997 the main landowner in Caspar announced that he would be selling approximately of the village of Caspar, including part of the beach. In late 1998, the citizens of the village of Caspar persuaded the

Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

, based out of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, to protect the land. The Mendocino Land Trust acquired the adjoining beach in 1999. In 2000 the village of Caspar and the Mendocino Land Trust used a grant from the California State Coastal Conservancy as well as state and federal funds to purchase the Caspar Headlands. The Mendocino Land Trust managed the land until the California Department of Parks and Recreation assumed ownership in June 2002.. State Senator

Wesley Chesbro Wesley P. Chesbro (born August 20, 1951) is an American Democratic politician from California. He was an assemblymember for the 2nd district, encompassing the North Coast. Previously, Chesbro served as the Assembly member from California's 1 ...

was present at the opening ceremony. A hiking trail, part of the

California Coastal Trail The California Coastal Trail, or CCT, is an environmental project by the California Coastal Conservancy, an organization developed to enhance coastal resources and promote access to the shore in 2001. The trail is designed to connect the enti ...

, was established in 2011 and connects the beach to the

Point Cabrillo Light Point Cabrillo Light is a lighthouse in northern California, United States, between Point Arena and Cape Mendocino, just south of the community of Caspar, California, Caspar. It has been a federal aid to navigation since 1909. It is part of the ...

one mile to the south.The Caspar Uplands Trail
Mendocino Land Trust, retrieved 2011-03-16.

Recreational uses

The beach is popular for swimming, boating, hiking, and fishing. This area has miles of undeveloped beach adjacent to the headlands. It is also a popular place to watch migrating gray whales.

Animal and plant life

The area is home to many different types of marine life, birds, as well as many different species of trees and wildflowers. Some types of animal life are:

Coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientif ...

steelhead trout Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, and shorebirds.

References

External links

Caspar Headlands State Beach
{{Protected areas of California, SP 1972 establishments in California Beaches of Mendocino County, California California State Beaches Parks in Mendocino County, California Protected areas established in 1972 Beaches of Northern California

History

Recreational uses

Animal and plant life

See also

References

External links