I still cannot believe how California impresses and surprises me even when I think I saw it all.
It was a gloomy February midday evening. The rain didn’t think to end, and I cannot push myself to do anything useful. I scrolled the feed (was it Pinterest or Instagram?) when I saw this stunning beach waterfall. I immediately knew that I need to see that.
Then it was a week of googling and reading. Oh yes, I didn’t expect that we drove through this magical beach at least five times. And I didn’t remember it from the times I scouted locations but thought it was too simple and too obvious. A regular Northern California beach!
The picture that I saw was shot at Westport-Union Landing beach. And the falls on it were seasonal. So here we go. It was a mid-March weekend when we left Fort Bragg.
The falls could be hiked to from the northern parking lot. It’s formed with Little Howard Creek. And of course, it’s not easily accessed. From the north parking lot, we hiked back to the parking entrance until we found a path down to the beach. Then we walked the beach north. I think the best time to hike to the falls is during the low tide through the beach is wide enough.
The falls were impressive. It looked smaller than at the picture. I guess, the season for it was closer to the end.

We walked back the same way. However, I think a bit later in the year, it’s possible to scramble up the bluff. There is parking right above the falls.
From the parking, it’s worth to walk further north. Here is a vista point with the overlook over cliffs. One of the rocks has a natural arch in it.

Links and information

• The beach is around 19 miles north from Fort Bragg, or 190 miles also north from San Francisco. Here is the beach on Google Maps.
• An official page of Westport-Union Landing State Beach.
• You can camp on the beach: first come first served.
• Visit some other California North Coast locations while in the area.

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