Russian Gulch State Park (SP) / Russian Gulch Bridge - Highway 1
United States / Mendocino, California
Location ID: #4496
This park is known for the heavily forested Russian Gulch Creek Canyon, a headland that features the Devil’s Punch Bowl (a large, collapsed sea cave with churning water), and a beach that offers swimming, tide pool exploring, skin diving and rock fishing. Inland, there is a 36-foot high waterfall. Hikers enjoy miles of hiking trails. The park also has a paved three-mile bicycle trail.
Russian Gulch Bridge / The Frederick W. Panhorst Bridge:
A beautifully designed mid-20th-century bridge similar to Big Sur's more famous Bixby Creek Bridge. Said to be the most beautiful of California's concrete arch bridges, according to one engineer. It is located in Russian Gulch State Park along Highway 1, about 1.7 miles north of Mendocino. Given the bridge's beautiful aesthetics, it is a frequent subject of photographs.
This bridge, an open-spandrel concrete arch design, is maintained by CalTrans. Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
Location Category:
- NATURAL LANDSCAPES / PARKS - *;
- NATURAL LANDSCAPES / PARKS - Canyons / Gorges;
- NATURAL LANDSCAPES / PARKS - Caves / Caverns;
- NATURAL LANDSCAPES / PARKS - Forests / Woodlands;
- NATURAL LANDSCAPES / PARKS - State Parks;
- TRANSPORTATION - *;
- TRANSPORTATION - Bridges;
- TRANSPORTATION - Bridges - Pedestrian Bridges;
- WATER & COASTAL AREAS - *;
- WATER & COASTAL AREAS - Beach Caves;
- WATER & COASTAL AREAS - Beaches / Coastline;
- WATER & COASTAL AREAS - Coastal Bluffs;
- WATER & COASTAL AREAS - Rivers / Rapids;
- WATER & COASTAL AREAS - Waterfalls