Humboldt County Parks

GUIDELINES TO ACTIVITIES AT
HUMBOLDT COUNTY PARKS

Revised 5/2003

A summary of the current regulations is as follows:
Vehicle Use on County Beaches	Street licensed, 4 wheel drive vehicles allowed on waveslope only on Clam Beach, Table Bluff, and Centerville Beach. Access to Mad River and North Spit allowed by Special Permit. Licensed ATV’s allowed on waveslope only at Table Bluff and Centerville. Permitted from sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, unless authorized by special permit or by permit for night smelt fishing. Accessed only by the designated access routes. Maximum speed - 15 mph. Vehicle play prohibited. Driving in creeks prohibited, except to cross over.
Horses	Permitted at Moonstone, Clam Beach, Mad River, Table Bluff, and Centerville.
Camping	Permitted in designated sites at Clam Beach for a maximum of 3 days in a 30-day period. Permitted in designated sites at Big Lagoon and Samoa for a maximum of 7 days in a 30-day period. Permitted in designated sites at Van Duzen and A.W. Way for a maximum of 10 days in 30-day period.
Campfires	Prohibited at Moonstone Beach. Permitted in designated fire rings in the camping and/or picnic areas at Tooby, Freshwater, Van Duzen, A.W. Way, Samoa, Big Lagoon, and Clam Beach Also permitted on the beach areas of ocean beach parks. Fires must be 50 feet or more away from large driftwood, 100 feet seaward of the vegetated dunes, 300 feet from a known snowy plover nest, and be small enough to fit within a 30" circle. Larger fires by special permit for special events.
Dogs	Where permitted, dogs must be on a leash no greater than 10 feet in the parking and camping areas and within 100' of these areas. Permitted to be unleashed, if under complete control by owner, on the waveslope only at Clam Beach, Table Bluff, and Centerville all year and on the entire beach from October 1 through February 28. Permitted to be unleashed if under complete control by owner, on the beach at Big Lagoon, Moonstone, Luffenholtz and Mad River County Parks. "Control" means that the dog is within view and within voice range of the owner, that the dog comes at first calling, and that the dog is not allowed to approach people in a threatening manner or in any way harass people, wildlife, other dogs, or horses. Permitted only in vehicle in Freshwater County Park. Owner must pick up and dispose of animal waste.
Wood Collecting	Permitted on certain County Park Ocean Beaches, under permit, on the waveslope and from mean high tide line to first line of dunes, bluffs, or vegetation from Oct 1 to Feb 28 (29)of the following year. With the required wood collecting permit, driving off the waveslope and onto the open sand area (but not in dunes or vegetation), directly to collect a large piece of wood and back out on the same tracks, is permitted on Clam Beach and Table Bluff County Parks (refer to vehicle use on county beaches). Pieces larger than 3 feet in diameter and/or 8 feet long must be left. No permit is required for small amounts of wood that can be carried manually in one armload from ocean beaches. No collecting within 400 feet of a Snowy Plover nest. With the required wood collecting permit, chain saws are allowed on ocean beaches. Maximum of 3 cords allowed per year.
Kites and Model Airplanes	Shall not be flown within 400 feet of a plover nest. Not allowed at Samoa Boat Ramp.
Night Fishing for Night Smelt	Licensed commercial and sport fishermen, by special permit, may fish for night smelt at Centerville Beach and Clam Beach between 30 min after sunset to sunrise. One full set of gear per family is required.
Hours	Freshwater Park open daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Memorial Day - Labor Day. The day-use parks and day-use park areas of Clam Beach, Samoa, Big Lagoon, A.W. Way, Van Duzen are closed midnight to 5:00 a.m. All park areas where camping is allowed are closed to all but fee paying campers between 12:a.m. (midnight) and 5:00 a.m. Occupation of a campsite after 8 P.M. shall be considered camping.
Summary of Regulations to Protect Snowy Plovers
People shall: Respect access restriction signs around a plover nest and/or nest exclosure. And stay 200 feet clear of an unsigned nest. Dogs must be on leash March 1 to September 30 at Clam Beach, Table Bluff, and Centerville County Parks, except on the waveslope, where they can be unleashed if kept under complete control of the owner. Dogs are not allowed to chase or harass plovers. No wood collecting within 400’ of a nest. No wood collecting on the South Jetty from March 1st through Sept. 15th. Campfires must be 300’ from a nest. Kites and model airplanes shall not be flown within 400’ of a nest.