Mad River Beach County Park

Dogs have to be leashed here. Humboldt County Code § 271-8 requires every dog in a county park to be restrained on a leash no longer than ten feet at all times, and there is no wave-slope exception, no surf-line exception, nothing. Several tourism listings say Mad River Beach is off-leash. They're wrong. The only lawful route around the rule is a Board of Supervisors resolution, and none exists for this beach on any official source.

Dogs are welcome otherwise. Named dog bans in the code cover Tooby Park, Freshwater Park and the beach at Swimmers Delight in Van Duzen Park, and Mad River isn't one of them. Owners must bag waste in sealed containers and bin it.

Finding the place is straightforward once you know the exit. Take the Giuntoli Lane exit off Highway 101 about two miles north of Arcata, head west on Janes Road, and follow signs to Mad River Beach. Park at the pedestrian bridge.

That bridge is also the southern end of the Hammond Trail, 5.5 miles of asphalt and gravel running north to Clam Beach County Park, with its southern terminus at the Mad River Bridge on Mad River Road. Bicycling, horseback riding and birding are all permitted on the trail itself.

Driving on the sand is a live question here. Mad River Beach isn't on the county's list of beaches where vehicles are banned outside roads and parking areas, which covers Big Lagoon, Luffenholtz and Moonstone. Where beach driving is permitted, the rules are strict: 15 mph, no dunes or vegetated areas except designated routes, creek crossings only at designated crossings, no vehicle play, and wave-slope driving only from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset.

One local oddity: § 271-6 is a weapons ordinance written specifically for this park.