Explore Mendocino with your smartphone

Exploring the Mendocino Coast just became easier with the launch of a new web site linking visitors to downloadable maps, route descriptions, photographs and other information on public trails and beaches along the rugged coastline - from the Gualala Bluff Trail to the newly christened Peter Douglas Trail near the Lost Coast.?Coordinated by the Mendocino Land Trust, the new Mendocino Trail Finder is easily located via web browser and can be accessed instantly on any smartphone by scanning the correct QR code.

The site contains information about 23 select scenic trails and ocean-front sites on a stretch of breathtaking coastline that can be almost overwhelming in the sheer volume of options. It includes state park lands and other protected properties managed by different conservation groups that often are not as well known.

The project resulted from a collaborative partnership of agencies and entities that manage coastal trails, and it reflects that variety, said Louisa Morris, associate director of the land trust.

It provides background on the history and ecology of each location, as well as practical intelligence on everything from the availability of picnic tables, restrooms and cell phone reception, to disabled access information, safety hazards and whether or not Fido is welcomed on a leash.

It can tell you which locations offer departure points for diving, surfing, kayaking and other recreation, and identify spots for whale watching, tidepooling, elk viewing and other wildlife encounters.

The website also is searchable by certain features and amenities - the prospect of seeing marine mammals, for example, or the presence of campgrounds.

Its creators hope to engage younger visitors in the tech-savvy millennial generation, introducing them especially to conserved lands on the coast that are open to hiking and public recreation, Morris said.

But plans to build a standalone mobile app were abandoned, in part because cell phone reception is so limited on the Mendocino Coast and because of the burdens of keeping an app updated for different platforms and operating systems, she said.

The new site is designed for real-time exploration as well as advance research and downloading of pertinent maps and information.

It also will be wrapped into a statewide web app in development by the California Coastal Conservancy that will promote access to the entire California Coastal Trail, intended eventually to run the full length of the state.

The Conservancy, which funded the Mendocino County project with a $42,000 grant, expects to launch the first phase of its own Explore the Coast product sometime this summer, linking to and utilizing locally created content in a single, centralized location, according to Trish Chapman, central coast program manager for the Coastal Conservancy.

“The key point is we really want to expand the stories of the coast using electronic media, (which can) do that more than an interpretive sign along a trail can tell,” Chapman said. “...We’re really excited about the work the Mendocino County Land Trust has done and look forward to replicating that up and down the coast.”

Morris said postcards promoting the new Mendocino Coast site and containing the scannable code already have been posted or made available for distribution at high-volume, visitor-serving businesses, tourist centers, general stores and the like.

As some especially remote areas may not have a phone signal available, visitors are also encouraged to download maps and data sheets on promising destinations before they set out to visit them.

The site was developed in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, California State Parks, City of Fort Bragg, Jug Handle Farms, Moat Creek Managing Agency, Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association, Redwood Coast Land Conservancy, Save the Redwoods League and Westport Village Society.

More information is available at trails.mendocinolandtrust.org/trails.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.