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Home / California / Exploring locally / Mendocino and Humboldt Coast / Van Damme State Park

Van Damme State Park

Dwarf trees

Unfortunately – and unlikely – to be named after the muscles from Brussels, divers plunge into the cold waters off the coastal section of Van Damme State Park in pursuit of abalone – an edible, rock-clinging mollusk. More interesting to the spectator is the park’s inland trail to the Pygmy Forest: acres of mature cypress and pine trees rising no higher than a few feet, their growth limited by the soil’s high acidity and lack of nutrients.

Find more in: Natural wonders

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