Pacific Coast Highway - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 157

10. Point Arena
Hugging the coast, the drive takes in some of northern California's most cherished coun-
tryside—verdant pastures, dreamy ocean vistas, and hills of tall grasses that ripple with
every briny breeze. One of the region's few towns is Point Arena. Once a busy logging
port, the village was nearly obliterated by the 1906 earthquake. The Point Arena Light Sta-
tion fared no better, but it was subsequently rebuilt and today is open to the public. Climb
its 147 steps to arresting views of sea and coastline, which is so treacherous that 10 ships
foundered on these rocks in a single night in 1865.
11. Van Damme State Park
Proving that trees don't have to be tall to have presence, this park's pygmy forest—mature
pines and cypresses stunted by the combined effects of highly acidic soil, poor drainage,
and wicked, salt-laden winds—barely reach the knee in some locations (elsewhere they
achieve a more respectable, though still anemic, height of eight feet). Still, not everything
here is pint-size. A network of trails and old logging roads along the Little River leads into
the heart of a mature, second-growth forest, featuring Douglas firs, Pacific hemlocks, and
redwoods. Fern Canyon, as its name implies, is especially lush, upholstered with a gener-
ous growth of ferns, rhododendrons, assorted wildflowers, and a waterfall.