Three miles south of Mendocino on Highway One, Van Damme State Park offers a scenic beach, a lush fern-filled forest, and year-round camping. The highway runs through the park, separating the campground and the Fern Canyon trail head to the east from the beach and parking lot to the west. Visitors can fish for abalone or launch a kayak in a protected cove. They can explore a pygmy forest. They can hike, jog, or bicycle the splendid Fern Canyon Scenic Trail beside Little River. Of all the park system's units along the Mendocino coast, Van Damme is perhaps the richest in terms of historical resources connected with the redwood lumber industry. Its story is a prime example of the struggles and eventual failures of a small, independent lumber operation.

Van Damme State Park consists of beach and upland on the Mendocino Coast. Of all park system units along the Mendocino coast, Van Damme is perhaps the richest in terms of historical resources connected with the redwood lumber industry. Its story is a prime example of the struggles and eventual failures of a small, independent lumber operation.

Pygmy Forest / Little River-Airport Road, Little River, CA:
Boardwalk / footbridge through the mini treetops of Van Damme State Park - - Located on the eastern portion of Van Damme State Park, the Discovery Trail boardwalk showcases the unique ecosystem of a temperate dwarf/pygmy forest. The boardwalk extends into the forest for a short distance (1/4 mile) and loops backward toward the parking lot. An additional trail nearby takes you deep into the park where the flat landscape transitions into gullies and canyons filled with tall and lush coniferous forests of redwoods and firs. The pygmy forest has the visual characteristics of a dry, almost chaparral environment. The soil is light-colored and sandy. Looks the part of a landscape on the edge of a desert environment.

Fern Canyon Trail/ Fern Canyon Loop, Little River, CA:
There are two Fern Canyon trails near the town of Mendocino, one just north of it in Russian Gulch State Park and the other just south of it in Van Damme State Park. And while the first rewards you with a waterfall at the end, the second offers 10 wooden bridges and a Pygmy Forest.

Spring Ranch Trail / Hwy 101, Little River, CA:
A coastal trail weaving through wild grasslands. Formerly a part of the Spring Ranch property, it is now part of Van Damme State Park. Features old mid-century barns and other smaller structures at the grasslands' edge.