Black Point is one of a series of public access beaches within the private community known as The Sea Ranch in Sonoma County. The other beaches include Pebble, Stengel, Shell, and Walk On Beach, and they are all connected by the Bluff Trail, which runs north all the way to Gualala Point Regional Park. I have passed by all of them on Highway 1 many times without stopping to investigate — other than a quick look on the way to somewhere else or to use the restroom! But on this day I had no other plans, so I headed down to Black Point to see what it had to offer.

The Big Guy had already lost interest in this spot after learning he wasn’t allowed to fish from the rocky point above the beach. I was on my own, and when I arrived in the parking lot, I found only a handful of people getting ready to leave. So when I eventually made it down to the beach, I had the place completely and entirely to myself.

There were a lot of stairs!

A fog bank slowly moved in

I decided to leave the beach and head on up to the rocky point on the south end. I was hoping for cell reception so I could send the Big Guy a text. While I was disappointed in that regard, it wasn’t a wasted trip because I got to enjoy the view and a few surprises before I headed back to the parking lot.

Mu first time spotting a White Pelican along the coast