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Russian
Gulch State Park
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Location: |
Less than 1 mile north of the village of
Mendocino |
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Mile
Marker: |
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Access: |
From within the cove at Russian Gulch, parking is
located at the edge of the very large beach. Access is flat and sandy. From the
day use area, narrow trails lead to short climbs down solid bedrock to the
water's edge. Small power boats and paddlecraft can be launched across the
sandy beach. Larger boats will need to put in at Noyo Harbor or Albion. |
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Facilities: |
Camp sites and day use areas.
Hot showers
available to registered campers.
Toilets and cold showers at the parking lot
to the beach.
Picnic tables, BBQs, toilet, and water are available at the
day use area on the bluff. |
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Nearest Public
Telephone: |
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Russian Gulch is a delightful place to visit on California's
north coast. It's a sprawling state park with miles of trails to explore, a
delightful waterfall tucked among some redwoods, beautiful oceanscapes viewed
from bluffs rising out of the ocean, and a protected beach spanned by a
picturesque bridge. There's plenty here to keep both the abalone diver and
their non-diving companions occupied for a long weekend.
There area a couple of locations for diving within the park. The
most popular is in the main cove off the park's large and sandy beach. It's a
matter of convenience. Parking for the cove is right on the beach, there's a
cold water shower and toilets at the parking lot, and the cove is very
protected from swell and wind coming from the most typical directions. That's
that good news. The bad news is that diving within the inner cove is rather
boring. It's mostly gravel and sand with an occasional boulder. There's usually
an ab or two on the boulders but they run small and a bit scrawny. Better
diving is available farther out.
Along the outer north wall of the main cove, you'll begin to find
abalone in respsectable numbers. If conditions are exceptionally calm, there
are two barely submerged rocks where abalone can usually be found in just a few
feet of water. Very nearby, the depths drop to 30' and 40' with abalone density
increasing once you're below the 15' mark. Note that the long surface swim from
the beach to this area can be sidestepped by entering directly from the
northern bluff.
No such sidestep is available on the south side of the cove.
Better diving for those with stamina and experience is available outside of the
southern point of the cove. Starting just at the southern point, the selection
of abalone increases dramatically as you explore the point and progress into
the next cove to the south. In water 15' to 25' deep, you'll find lots of
interesting places to explore in an area riddled by underwater mazes.
Finally, there is diving available off the western bluffs of the
park. Parking is at the day use area and there's a short hike across some
meadows to a number of trails that lead down to the water. Once in the water,
finding abalone isn't any harder than falling off a log. |
