Mendocino Woodlands State Park, Historic state park in Mendocino County, US.
Mendocino Woodlands State Park is a California state park in Mendocino County, set within a dense forest of redwood trees, ferns, and open clearings along the Little North Fork of Big River. The grounds are divided into three separate group camping areas, each with wooden cabins, a dining hall, and a fully equipped kitchen.
The park was created in 1938 as part of Roosevelt's New Deal, built by workers from the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps during a time of widespread unemployment. It was one of about 46 similar projects across the country, all designed to build public recreation areas while providing jobs.
The buildings follow the National Park Service rustic style, using wood and stone from the surrounding forest so they feel like a natural part of the landscape. Visitors walking through the grounds can see this approach most clearly in the cabins and dining halls, which were all built according to the same design principles.
The park is set up for group use only, so visiting as an individual or family requires booking one of the three areas in advance. Summer and early fall tend to offer the most stable weather for exploring the forest trails.
This is the only Recreation Demonstration Area ever built in California, and the only one of its kind placed inside a redwood forest anywhere in the country. That makes it a one-of-a-kind remnant of a 1930s federal program that exists nowhere else in the state.
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