One of MacKerricher State Park’s most beautiful areas is 30-acre Lake Cleone, an ecological treasure with aquatic plants, water birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish. Mallards float along the shore, right next to the parking lot, and western pond turtles sun themselves on logs just offshore. As you follow the boardwalk and trail around the lake, you’ll pass through riparian woodlands where you may see deer, weasels and rabbits. This is one of the few places fishing — catch and release — is allowed in a State Park. Just a stone’s throw from the ocean, access is free. From downtown Fort Bragg, drive north a few miles to the MacKerricher State Park sign. Instead of turning into the park, make the next left turn (the Purple Rose Restaurant is on the corner) and drive right up to the lake.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 11:10 am and is filed under For Families, Fort Bragg Attractions, Wildlife Viewing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.