Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, California Tips

Have you ever been to Fort Bragg, California? It is about four hours drive from San Jose. If you are familiar with Fort Bragg, there is a camp-site that is just a mile away from the infamous Glass Beach.

Glass Beach is a man made, man created beach. The beach is real, but the glass didn't naturally appeared there until the residents in the area threw their household products, milk jugs, glass, appliances, and vehicles onto the beach. The locals referred to it as "The Dumps." To keep the trash under control, or to reduce the piling up trash, they lit fires to the trash on the beach.




   

 Over the years, Glass Beach accumulated different types of materials including pottery. 1967 the area was shutdown, and clean up programs were administered. The beach was saved by waves and time. I thought it was "interesting" when first heard about it, my visions of this place was a limited area with some glass. Not sure what kind - maybe shells that looked like glass? I was afraid that it could be one of those places that people over promise and it under delivers.
Well, in person, it was beyond my imagination. I had no idea that the glass beach was filled with glass. Yeah - no kidding. Beautiful and so magical that it is unreal. There is so much glass that had been rounded by time and waves. It wasn't just a thin layer, it was deep beyond what I can dig.

There were repeated visitors, like a couple I met. They were on one of their dates,the woman said she had found some very nice ones a few weeks ago, and wanted to collect a certain kind - certain color. They had brought books to just lay on the beach and relax...I thought it was one of the most romantic scenes I have seen.