About 15 miles out of Fort Bragg, north on Highway 1 you will come across some of the most beautiful coastline of California. Pass through Westport, a town that used to employ about 400 people at it's height in 1900 but is now a very small and quiet historic coastal town. On up 2.5 miles to 3 miles of beach and 3 campgrounds that now make occupy what used to be Union Landing, a town that only consists of maybe a handful of original structures. If you aren't coming to camp, at least stay for the sunset. It is truly spectacular.
Weather Forecast For Westport, CA:
Quick Information:
* Address: 25000 Hillshore Dr.
Westport, CA 95488
* Phone: (707) 964-4406
* Park Hours: Sunrise to Sunset
* Established: ?
* Size: 3 miles of beach
* Elevation: Approx. 80 feet
Day Use Fee:
$10 per vehicle
Dogs:
Allowed on leash.
Potable Water:
Yes
Toilets:
Yes, pit
Camping:
Westport-Union Landing consists of 3 separate primitive campgrounds. You have the first one at the top, Howard Creek in the northernmost, Abalone Point southernmost and Westport Union Landing right in the middle.
There are a total of 86 campsites for you to chose from and these are on a first come, first served basis, so no reservation are available. All camping fees are $35 per night, even in the off season. And there are discounts for disabled folks as well as some senior discounts, but I wasn't sure on the particulars about that.
All the campsites are very open and visible to everyone in the campground, and they are also a bit close together. But what it lacks in privacy, it more than makes up in the scenery. From December through February, you have a good chance of spotting migrating gray whales.
Plus, the off season has relatively very few folks camping. When we went at the end of November, there was maybe 1 campsite taken at the Westport location, 2 at the Howard Creek location and the Abalone Point is closed for winter season.
When we were there in July it was very busy with most sites taken, but on a first come, first served basis it's probably easier to find a spot there than down the coast closer to Fort Bragg and Mendocino.
Facilities:
These are basic and primitive sites. There are spigots located, but I'm not sure of each location. So be sure to pack in enough for drinking and cooking. There are pit toilets at each campground, but these are super basic. Like the breeze will be coming in basic. There are no showers.
All campsites do have picnic tables and BBQ pits, but there are no food boxes available like most other State Park campgrounds.
Dogs:
Dogs are allowed on leash at all times. And be sure to bring doggy cleanup baggies, so you can leave it clean for the next campers.
Campgrounds:
Howard Creek, as the name implies, has Howard Creek running into the ocean at the location. This is the furthest north location and has a lookout point and picnic tables on the bluff overlooking where Howard Creek and the Pacific Ocean meet. If you want to get down to the ocean from here, then you will have to wade through Howard Creek. It's not deep, but it's definitely chilly.
The beach at Howard Creek also shares the exact same location as the portion of beach for the Westport Union Landing campground location. The trails basically face each other.
This would have been an awesome place to view the sites from. Unfortunately, when we were there, the handrail had fallen off. I'm unsure as to how long this has been like that for. There is a single stall pit toilet restroom at this location, and no showers or running water.
The view of the Westport Union Landing Beach and campground. You can just see Howard Creek in the lower portion of the photo. And across the way on the hill, that trail is the trail from the other campground. This beach was absolutely amazing. It was seriously our favorite location so far on the California coast.
The beach was the beautiful black sand. And the creek would disappear under the sand and pop up elsewhere before heading into the ocean. The tide pool had loads of sea anemones, mussels, larger and smaller crabs and some rock fish.
In the off season, you won't find more than a handful of people, if that. We had the entire beach to ourselves. It was such a wonderful time.
Abalone Point is the first campground that you will come to if heading up from Fort Bragg. It does close in the off season, but there are plenty of camping spots at the other two locations.
The road below used to take you to the day use area for Abalone Point beach access. But the road has apparently dropped off to the sand below it. So as of November 2021, there is no beach access from this location.
There is a State Parks road closure notice at the beginning of the road. However, I did see a few people parked there who had hiked down to the ocean. I'm not sure what the trail was like, though.
Westport Union Landing State Beach and Campground. This was the current day use parking for Abalone Point since there was no real beach access available. This is also the middle campground when heading from either direction.
Just like the other two sites, it only has a pit toilet, barbecue pits and picnic tables. I did see a camp host at this location, so I am not sure if there was also one at Howard Creek. They were not at their camper when we visited.
Here are the campsites at Westport Union Landing location. They look very much like Abalone Point but less grass overall. Still the same stunning views. In the right-hand photo, you can see the Howard Creek access point and just out of view is the really easy trail down to the sand.
What's Nearby?
Depending on your direction, you can get to Fort Bragg and Mendocino if you head down Highway 1. If you head north, then you will go through some redwoods before hitting Leggitt and Highway 101. There is a small store in Westport where you can grab something to drink and a bit of food.
Helpful Resources:
I got all of my information from my visit to Westport Union Landing. So no links will be provided for this one.
