Patrick's Point State Park

Established as a state park in 1929, Patrick's Point State Park is a tree-and meadow-covered headland with a broad sandy beach that juts into the Pacific Ocean. The park is located twenty-five miles north of Eureka, California. Though the 640-acre park is in the heart of California's coast redwood country, the principal trees within the park are spruce, hemlock, pine, fur and red alder. Its dense forests stretch over an ocean headland with lovely wildflower-festooned meadows.

A dramatic shoreline, ranging from broad sandy beaches to sheer cliffs that rise high above the Pacific Ocean, offers great opportunities to explore tide pools, search for agates and driftwood, and watch whales and sea lions and brilliant sunsets. A number of "sea stacks" -- parts of the mainland that have been isolated by the pounding surf -- stand offshore like pickets. Several trails wind down the cliffs to the beaches and coves. The park offers several miles of hiking trails, a reconstructed Yurok Indian Village, a native plant garden, a bookstore, three family campgrounds, a group camp, a camp for hikers and bicyclists, and several picnic areas.

It has night and morning fog almost all year. During the summer, it sometimes doesn't lift for days at a time although beautiful, crystal-clear days can often be enjoyed in spring and fall. Rainfall averages about sixty inches a year, most of which falls between October and April. Temperatures are moderate. Winter lows average 38°F (3.3°C); summer highs average 62°F (16.7°C).

In 1973, Patrick's Point Garden Club established what has become a native plant repository, comprised of as many plants as possible that grow in the unique environment of the coastal fog belt and the humid transition zone between the ocean and mountain slopes. In 1997, this garden was reėstablished as a Native American plant garden, which now has plants that were used by the local Yuroks. The plantings in the reėstablished garden are representative of the plants used for medicinal, basketry, substance, and ceremonial purposes.

The Yurok had a seasonal camp at Abalone Point in the park. Though the Yuroks lived in permanent villages north and south of the park, they came here in the summer to harvest fish, mussels, sea lions, and other game.

We would like to thank Michelle Forys, State Park Biologist, Patrick's Point State Park, for providing information for this page.

Flora

Vascular Plants

Fauna

Vertebrates

Invertebrates: Tidepools