Van Damme State Park - Little River, California

Doreen O.

Sept 2024 update:
Fern Canyon trail is open.

We camped in the lower front loop. It is definitely colder than the back loop by the amphitheater. The breeze and fog come straight from the beach. Also, the camp host has a lot of bright lights which are annoying.

The shower is designed in such a way that it is impossible to keep your clothes dry.

We took the bog trail which was full of interesting plants. The boardwalk on the trail has completely fallen apart in some places. Be careful.

June 2023: The campground is open and in good condition. The Fern Canyon trail is closed and it will be for awhile. Dogs are not allowed on trails. The only day use is at the beach where there are picnic tables and restrooms.

Guillermo I.

Great park for a short visit, god and clean facilities, great pit stop if you are traveling in the area.

Dominica H.

We came here in the morning to explore the tide pools. Lots of amazing creatures to discover. Wasn’t as nice of a swimming beach as others in the area though.

Cristian A.

The park has a parking lot and bathrooms. Yes, I did start with the essential information on this review, your welcome. This beach has a lot of sand, rocks, sea shells, and drift wood. You can walk along the coast, sit on the edge of the parking lot, or sit on the tree logs in the back of the beach. The state park is divided by Hwy 1. There is a beach side and across the street is the park side. This is a nice place to collect special items, come watch the sunset, meditate, do yoga, or just relax.

Charlie A.

Campground is located in a good place if you want to be away from large groups. Lots of places to choose from with good access to the beach and ocean. Ocean side parking is available for camping too, but you have to pay at the Van Damme booth. Oceanside has 2 fire-pits, picnic benches, and bathrooms (no showers). There are however showers inside the campground that were $1/5 minutes at the time of this review. If you need some town access you can pop into Mendocino or Fort Bragg. Mendo is a neat little town with many tourists and shops. Fort Bragg is a little bigger with many good breweries. There is also a great bike/walking path along the ocean all the way to McKerricher. Look at TrailForks if you want some real dirt because there are plenty of local trails to hit.

Corseted P.

The beach is a small one with pebbles, but it's lovely. Worth a stop, for sure! The park has its main trail closed due to storm damage, but the some of campground is still open.

Kara R.

Beautiful, easy hike; recent storms have wreaked havoc on the trees, resulting in fallen trees, slides and damage to bridges making them unsafe for most to cross. Once the cleanup has occurred and the park fully reopened, it will be a must-stop for many visiting the area.

brandon J.

Absolutely beautiful beach. We were so lucky to find this little spot just outside of Van Damme National Park. Plenty of parking right off the road and as shorter walk to the ocean. My wife is on a knee scooter and so we Found out that the state parks program in California has sand accessible wheel chairs that are free. You simply call ahead to make sure one is available. Then show up with a truck because, they do not break down. We we threw ours on top of the car strapped it down. It was only a few miles from where we picked it up, to the beach. It was much lighter than it looked. Not the easiest to puch around but a great option if you need it.This is a great spot to catch sunset. Right as we are going to leave we even caught a glimpse of a seal splashing the surf. One thing to note however this is not the best beach to walk barefoot in the surf due to the fact that it is covered in beautiful pebbles they can be quite tiresome on your feet. Dog friendly as long as they are kept on leashes and you clean up after them of course so bring a bag if you bring a dog please.