A Bluff Walk to the Point at Gualala

Gualala, the name of a river, a point, a town and a park located on the northern boundary of Sonoma County, about 110 miles north of San Francisco, offers some fascinating walks.

Hurried travelers can exit Highway 1 and stretch their legs with a short walk along the Gualala River. Hikers with more time will enjoy exploring the various environments of Gualala Regional Park--ocean, river and forest. Coastal activists and those who observed the two-decade-long struggle to open Sea Ranch, a residential development, to public access will relish the chance to explore this stretch of coastline.

The origin of the name Gualala has never been satisfactorily explained. Anthropologists suggest that it is the Spanish version of the Pomo Indian word walali --”where the waters meet.” Some historians speculate that Ernest Rufus, a captain in John Sutter’s Indian Company, gave the area its name. Valhalla, in Teutonic mythology, is the great hall that is home to heroes fallen in battle.

Unlike most California coastal rivers and creeks, which cascade westerly from the slopes of the coastal mountains, the Gualala flows south to north--along the San Andreas Fault. A sand spit forms at the river mouth in summer, when this area can best be explored on foot. Near the Coast Highway bridge is a freshwater marsh, habitat for water and shore birds. A redwood grove, accompanied by rhododendrons and sword ferns, lines an upper stretch of the river. These diverse Gualala River habitats can be explored by the highly recommended three-quarter-mile-long River Trail.

Be sure to check out the exhibits in the park’s visitors center. A wind-generator system provides power for the building. It’s one of the first uses of wind generation to power a public building.

Gualala, the town, has a couple of turn-of-the-century hotels plus the elegant St. Orres, a restaurant that looks like a Russian Orthodox Church. For the budget traveler, Gualala Point Regional Park has some fine campsites ($12 a night).

Directions to trail head: Gualala Point Regional Park is off Highway 1, half a mile south of the town of Gualala. (The first left inside the park leads to the trail head for Salal Trail, which you’ll join if you decide to pursue the Sea Ranch option of this hike.)

Continue half a mile through the park to the visitors center. Park day-use fee is $2 per vehicle.

The hike: From the visitors center, follow the paved path for 100 yards. Join a grassy trail and descend to the river mouth.

After exploring the river mouth, double back to a line of cypress trees and head south on the bluff-top trail to Whale Watch Point. At a fence line delineating the park boundary, you can either loop back to the trail head or walk through the fence into Sea Ranch via the bluff-top trail.

The trail into Sea Ranch plunges into a stand of cypress. When you emerge you’ll spy the golf course, dotted with deer and golfers. State Coastal Conservancy trail signs keep you on the track, which doggedly follows the bluffs.

Near the path are several Bauhaus-inspired homes, done in an architectural style sometimes described as “grain elevator modern.” Some architects believe this severe style blends in with the surroundings; others have their doubts.

You round cypress-covered Gualala Point and cross a wooden footbridge. After walking across a grassy headland, you reach a junction with Salal Trail on the bluffs above a rocky pocket beach.

Salal Trail crosses a paved path and joins the creek bed. (On brisk days, it’s a refuge from the wind.) The path winds past a stand of redwood and through dense berry bushes. Crossing a small bridge and a paved road, the trail continues with Salal Creek through a densely vegetated area of ferns, Bishop pine and cypress. You emerge from Salal Creek drainage near Highway 1. Head north on the path paralleling the highway.

A quarter-mile of travel brings you to the Salal trail head and the Gualala Point Regional Park day-use area. From there, it’s a half-mile jaunt along the road back to the park visitors center.

Sonoma County Coast, Gualala Point Trail Where: Gualala Point Regional Park. Distance: Visitors center to Gualala River mouth, 1 1/2 miles round trip; to Sea Ranch, return via Blufftop Trail and Salal Trail, 4 1/2 miles round trip. Terrain: Sandy beach, handsome bluffs, redwood grove. Highlights: Great blufftop walk. Degree of difficulty: Easy to moderate. Precautions: Some poison oak along the creek; watch for flying golf balls. For more information: Call Gualala Point Regional Park at (707) 785-2377.