On state park closures
Somehow I knew Manchester State Beach, my favorite camping spot where my husband and I have camped regularly for years, would be on the Governor's list of state parks to close. Manchester has already been sliced in half, with 15 or so campsites out of 30 eliminated last year, supposedly for seaside habitat protection - although you find state park rangers riding all over the dunes in four-wheelers - but the tiny state camping area was still a great spot if you could get there quick enough to get a camping space. I don't have high hopes that it will be saved, but it will be a big loss to me personally. The KOA on the same road is nice, but it's expensive and, excuse me, riddled with children and big crowds of people in giant RVs. Not a quiet camping weekend experience. Don't get me wrong, when my grandchildren come to town, that's where we stay. They can ride their bikes all over, go play pool or the video games and swim in the pool. And they love it. But Manchester was one of the first places my husband and I discovered after we caught our breath from our first experience of seeing the Mendocino Coast and it holds special memories of our early marriage years 18 years ago.
Comments
KC,
A side of KC we haven't heard about before...a camper. Yes Manchester is a great state park. It the most isolated of the coastal state parks, one that few locals are even aware of. Hopefully the park closure nonsense will diaappear.
Richard
Posted by: Richard Shoemaker | January 13, 2008 04:40 PM
I too hold many great memories of Manchester State Park - it's such a beautiful place. Years ago, my husband and I spontaneously decided to drive over to the coast to camp. We drove over to Mendocino and up to Westport only to find every campground full. We drove down to Manchester and happily found campsites available! It's been a favorite ever since.
Posted by: Aundrea | February 5, 2008 02:23 PM