Schooner Gulch and Bowling Ball Beaches

Schooner Gulch is a small, pleasant beach along the Mendocino coast with tide pools and interesting rock formations. Its neighbor, Bowling Ball Beach, draws much more attention because of the rows of spherical rock balls visible at low tide and other interesting geologic formations.

Parking is found along the southbound side of Highway 1 at Schooner Gulch Road. Because of a blind curve coming from the north, drivers should plan to approach the parking area from the north and exit to the south. Another parking area is slightly south of Schooner Gulch.

Trails lead from the main parking area to both Schooner Gulch Beach and Bowling Ball Beach. Erosion has degraded the final 10 yards of the trail to Bowling Ball Beach so that park officials have declared it closed. Even so, some people make their way down slippery, muddy steps at their own risk, using a make-shift rope for support. It is not recommended.

Bowling Balls on the Beach

The spherical rocks on Bowling Ball Beach attract sightseers, geologists, and photographers. Lined up nearly in rows on the beach, the sandstone balls are about 2 to 3 feet in diameter. These sedimentary rocks were formed when mineral cements bound grains of sand or stone into larger formations. These bowling ball rocks are known as concretions.

The concretions were formed inside the softer Cenozoic mudstone of the bluffs along the coast. As the surrounding stone was worn away by waves, the concretions were exposed.

Farther north along the beach are concretions which have taken a different shape. Resembling giant English muffins, the rocks are pressed against the face of the cliff where they have gradually been exposed by the pounding waves. Some are still attached to the slope of the cliff while others have slid down to rest on the edge of the beach.

Cautions

The waves at both Schooner Gulch and Bowling Ball beaches can be dangerous with strong rip-currents. Swimming and wading are not recommended. Negotiating the areas around the cliffs brings its own hazards with eroding hillsides and trails, especially at Bowling Ball Beach as mentioned above.