Van Damme State Park
J
Reviewed Aug. 22, 2018

A lucky find

My family and I stayed here once on a road trip to California. We like to play each day by ear which can sometimes become challenging when it’s time to find a place to stay for the night, relying on last minute availability. The night we stayed here was the most difficult we ever had finding a campsite, but we got lucky with a well-timed, last minute cancellation just as we were checking to see if they had any openings. The car just before us had checked for openings and had just been turned away. When we pulled up the ranger took a call canceling one of their best tent sites for the night. So lucky!

The campground is incredibly beautiful, wooded, cool and fresh. The campground sits in a deep narrow valley of trees with a stream running through just across highway 1 from a beach. The bathrooms are good and clean. There’s an amphitheater where we were able to see a ranger/scientist presentation on sea birds of California. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

We had dinner in nearby Mendocino - which is a cute, small town on the coast which attracts many tourists. The town has a rich history and some mystique with the local freemasonry statue “Time and the Maiden” statue which looks down over the town.

The next morning the Ranger suggested we check out a nearby Pygmy Tree Forest as a point of interest it was pretty cool and definitely worth checking out.

I would stay here again in a heartbeat. It’s like an oasis of cool and fresh in the hot August of California. The coast is breathtaking and the local sights are not to be missed.

Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Van Damme State Park by Jessica R., August 22, 2018
  • The panorama of coast in nearby Mendocino
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  • Review photo of Van Damme State Park by Jessica R., August 22, 2018
  • Review photo of Van Damme State Park by Jessica R., August 22, 2018
  • Review photo of Van Damme State Park by Jessica R., August 22, 2018