Fort Bragg makes list of ‘16 Best Small Beach Towns in the US'

Fort Bragg in Mendocino County was recently named one of the best small beach towns in the country, according to travel website Trips to Discover.

The Mendocino County city was named to Trips to Discover’s list of “16 Best Small Beach Towns in the U.S. for Summer,” one of three California beach towns to make the list, posted May 7.

Fort Bragg’s beaches are home to tide pools full of marine life, as well as sea lions which are often found lounging on the rocks dotting the coastline.

The Trips to Discover list also highlighted the city’s Glass Beach which is covered in broken pieces of glass that have been smoothed by the ocean’s currents and washed up on the shore.

According to Mendocino County’s Tourism Commission, the glass is actually from former city trash dump sites along the beach, where loads of glass bottles and other garbage was pushed over the cliffs into the ocean. The county suggests looking for and taking photos of the glass, but leaving it behind for others to discover.

The list also emphasizes Fort Bragg’s proximity to outdoor attractions like MacKerricher State Park and the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden, as well as the famous Skunk Train, which carries tourists to nearby redwoods.

The unnumbered list also featured Central California beach towns Morro Bay and Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Other West Coast beach towns on the list include Cannon Beach in northern Oregon, Long Beach in southern Washington.

The list also mentioned: Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida; Tybee Island, Georgia; Anna Maria Island, Florida; Orange Beach, Alabama; Edisto Beach, South Carolina; Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina; Provincetown, Massachusetts; Montauk, New York; Stonington, Maine; Chincoteague, Virginia; and Grand Haven, Michigan.

For more information, go to tripstodiscover.com.