Park your car in downtown Fort Bragg near the Pudding Creek Trestle, a 515-foot-long former Union Lumber Company railroad bridge converted to a road in 1949 and to pedestrian and bicycle use in 2007.
Cross it and head north onto a rail-trail dubbed Ten Mile Beach Trail, also known as the MacKerricher Haul Road. It’s flat, paved and comes with sweeping ocean views.
Along its 3.5-mile length you’ll come to Virgin Creek Beach, one of the great surf spots on the Mendocino Coast and a wonderful family beach as well. Continue to Lake Cleone in MacKerricher State Park. You can go farther if you want, all the way to Ten Mile River.
You can access the trail from the state park or near the trestle in Fort Bragg. For the latter, take Highway 1 to Ward Avenue, make a left and drive to the ocean, where you will find a parking area.
