Glass Beach at Fort Bragg in California



Glass Beach is a beautiful, rugged beach west of Fort Bragg, with cliffs and crashing waves. There's little sand, but nevertheless, Glass Beach is one of California's most interesting beaches.

Beginning in 1949, the area around Glass Beach became a public dump. Fort Bragg residents threw whatever household garbage they had over the cliffs above and into what is now Glass Beach. They discarded lot of glass, appliances, and even cars. By the early sixties, some attempts were made to control what was dumped, and dumping of any toxic items was banned. Finally in 1967, the North Coast Water Quality Board realized what a mistake it was and closed the area.



Over 30 years later, nature has reclaimed this beach. Years of pounding waves have cleansed the beach, wearing down the discarded glass into the small, smooth, colored trinkets that cover the beach today. You'll still see the occasional reminder of it earlier life, such as a rusted spark plug, but for the most part what you'll see is millions of pieces of glass sparkling in the sun.



In 2002, the California State Park system purchased the 38-acre Glass Beach property, and after cleanup it was incorporated into MacKerricher State Park. The area is now frequently visited by tourists. Though not officially permitted, many still scour the beach for interesting curios and glass to take home as souvenirs.

The area is now frequently visited by tourists. Though not officially permitted, many still scour the beach for interesting curios to take home as souvenirs. The glass is no longer allowed to be taken from the beach. When the beach was cleaned up people were quickly attracted to the beautiful glass so they took it. Before the beach could be destroyed the California Parks & Recreation Dept. took over the beach.



The path from the road down to the beach is regarded as treacherous, because unprepared visitors not wearing shoes with sufficient traction occasionally injure themselves.

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