Centerville Beach

This windy beach stretches for nine miles and is part of the Lost Coast. Both Mendocino and Humboldt Counties are bordered by this wide length of undeveloped Northern California coastline.

Centerville Beach is a county park with many hiking trails and tall cliffs. Vehicles and ATVs, as well as horses and pets, are permitted on the beach. Although it is a wide, flat beach, the water is quite cold and rough, making it unsuitable for water sports. A mix of farmland, meandering sloughs, and marshy wetlands may be seen behind the shore. At the south end of the beach, a big white cross may be seen. This cross is a California Historical Landmark that honors the 38 people who died on January 6, 1860, shipwreck of the mail ship SS Northerner. Centerville Beach is roughly a 4.5-hour drive north of San Francisco, near the charming Victorian town of Ferndale.