jughandle state reserve

My 6 year old and I recently spent an amazing winter morning at Jughandle, mostly the beach and river area where she frolicked, ran and explored for hours. What a combination of scenery, soft white sand, shallow water, relatively calm waves, and fantastic tide pools and river ecosystem to explore at low tide, all within short distance of each other. Cannot wait to return with the entire family next time, and we will spend the whole day.

Nice area to hike with one's dog when crowds are absent. We spent hours there and never encountered another person (that's the great comment). My only negative comments (...minimal, certainly) are that the trail areas need some routine maintenance (... a couple of broken stairwell steps, several weathered destination signs, etc.). The minor deficiencies could probably be handled with a week's work by a dedicated Forestry/CDC inmate crew. A little preventive maintenance really pays dividends...

This is a real nice place to go for a walk and to get some great coastal sunset pictures. The Ecological Staircase Trail could use better marking and an overview map of all the trails would be useful. Definitely worth checking out.

Be sure to allow plenty of time here - we didn't! The self-guided nature trail is excellent. The reserve encompasses several different ecological areas. The trail is 2.5 miles long and takes about 3 hours to complete. Even if you don't have time for a long hike, the beach area and the bluffs are wonderful. The trail guide identifies many of the trees and plants. A great place to learn about what you are seeing!

We (a family of five, 2 adults, 3 boys aged 11, 9 and 6) decided to visit here on our last full day in California. We were staying in nearby Mendocino. The reserve is easily accessed as the car park is right by Highway 1. The park is free to access. There were only a handful of cars in the car park. Note the restroom facilities consist of one portable toilet cabin, which is rather unpleasant. There was no ranger (maybe they are there at other times? I don't know). Unfortunately for us there were no trail guides on our arrival - though at the end of our hike we found someone had dropped some whilst we were in the park. Our hike would have been better with the trail guide - it is very informative about the ecological staircase and the map helps you work out distances.Note, the sign at the car park says that Pygmy Forest is 2.5mi. We didn't make it that far as it was getting a bit late and we didn't know how far we were from the forest because we didn't have the trail guide. However, by our calculations afterwards, the hike to Pygmy Forest is only 2.5 mi is you skip the first loop to the cliffs and start the trail at number 10. Also, the trail is not a loop - you go there and then back again. We enjoyed the different habitats we encountered, and the scenery was wonderful. We were a bit disappointed about not seeing the pygmy forest though. I would have given it 5 stars if there had been a trail guide when we arrived!

Love the flat trails that lead you out to the edge of the cliffs to give you a beautiful look at the restless ocean waves. Be careful however because you are literally right at the edge. I can see it on the news one day, "tourist leaning over edge to see ocean closer, falls to death". So be smart, don't lean over the sides, stay on the path! Anyways, the scenery is gorgeous, its a state reserve. You can see from the top, a beach that has never been walked on which is so very rare when it comes to areas like this. This is a beautiful area and I was happy for a flat trail going out to outstanding ocean views. I love the beach and Mendocino has the most breathtaking views. Do yourself a favor and go to this place!Also, there is a trail that allows dogs on a leash which is nice. It seemed most people picked up after their dog so thank you!

We went there expecting just a hiking trail and found it very educational and informative. You learn about local plants and animals, as well as how the different types of land formed in one relatively small area. Highly recommended.

Like all Mendocino county walks along the headlands, the views of the coastline and access to hidden coves and private beaches is lovely. This particular state reserve features two trails. Marked on a single sign is a headlands trail and the pygmy forest trail with milage for both. I have stopped here twice now during my week long stay in the area and have yet to find the way to the pygmy forest. There is a billboard at the trailhead but no map of the area. Also at the trailhead is a single porta-potty......that was full to the top! These overflowing porta-potties have not been uncommon this week. The downside of this is if you can't stomach going in you are then forced to hold it or, what seems to be the more popular choice , find a bush along the trail, as scattered throughout the trees and bushes are wads of tp, diapers, etc. I recommend not looking down so as your enjoyment of the walk and view is not diminished.

My wife and I went there and were very surprised at how beautiful it is. We were the only one's there overlooking the water and the many cliffs

This easy five mile walk through five strata of foliage rates somewhere between a four and a five.l Quite a lovely and interesting views. Definitely worthwhile.

Decent coastline. Nice beach. Pleasant hike through the dense forest. The hype for the Pygmy section seems over-rated to us. Maybe it was effects from the drought, but it was less than impressive.

The reserve is beautiful and scenic. It has picnic tables and was busy on a Saturday! We enjoyed the serenity and peacefulness of the reserve. It was a quick day place for us as we were looking for a great place to have a picnic lunch and enjoy the surroundings

Nice easy hike with a 5 year old. Great views. Easy access to the beach from the parking lot. Can easily spend a couple of hours.

We had not been to this beach for many years and it is still as beautiful and deserted as ever. We hiked down to the beach and then up, and under the highway, to head towards the pygmy forest. We didn't get that far but it was a very nice walk.

For those who like variety in their walks, you can't beat the one at Jughandle. You start going west towards the ocean, come back around under highway 1 and head inland. From there you have a beautiful walk through the redwoods and come out onto a dirt road. You will notice that you've gone from giant trees into trees that look like they have just started. On the dirt path you will come to some metal posts. Continue about 75 yards and on the right will be a pathway made of wood. You have arrived at the pygmy forest. I hope you enjoy this walk as much as I have through the years. I've witnessed sea lions corralling schools of fish and found mountain lion tracks.