Glass Beach
No artist: Fort Bragg’s coastal dump sites (1906–1967), worn smooth by the surf · Glass Beach, south end of MacKerricher State Park, Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, California
Photo: Ryanx7 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), as also published in Street Art Utopia.
Between 1906 and 1967, Fort Bragg residents dumped trash on the coastal bluffs, and the surf wore the broken glass into smooth, colorful pebbles. The cleaned-up site is now part of MacKerricher State Park, where no sea glass may be taken. Source Source Source Checked
Seen Mar 2026: IFLScience reported on 12 March 2026 that the beach still has sea glass but “is a shadow of its former self”; the 2026 MacKerricher State Park map still lists Glass Beach and its no-collecting rule. Source Source Reported
More photos
💡 4 things to know
- Three dumps, six decadesThe city opened the first of three coastal dump sites in 1906, and dumping officially stopped in 1967. Source Source Checked
- The surf made pebblesGlass shattered, tumbled in the surf and was gradually worn into smooth, colorful pebbles. Source Source Checked
- Cleanup, then a parkThe Mendocino Land Trust managed the waste removal, and California State Parks bought Glass Beach in October 2002. Source Source Checked
- The glass is thinningIn March 2026 IFLScience reported that the beach is ‘a shadow of its former self’ because visitors keep pocketing glass; Wikipedia reports that the city council declined to fund replenishment in December 2012. Source Source Reported
📍 Where it is
Glass Beach is at the south end of MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg, off Highway 1 and reached by the Noyo Headlands Coastal Trail. All natural and cultural features are protected by law, and no sea glass may be taken. Source Source Source Checked
Opens a Google Maps search for the coordinates (39.453611, -123.813056); no Street View panorama was checked for this file.
🗓️ Sightings
- 1967
City dump closed · land trust
- 2002
Bought by California State Parks (October) · land trust
- 20067 Sep
Dense glass photographed in the surf · camera date
- 201221 Jun
Travel story published · National Geographic
- 201616 Jan
Photographed (the post’s photo) · camera date
- 202114 Oct
Sea glass among pebbles photographed · camera date
- 202612 Mar
Reported depleted but still glassy · news
Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark dated records and reports. Publication dates are not camera dates.
🗞️ In the sources
Glass Beach Is A Beautiful Sight, But It Has A Grim Origin Story
“Collecting glass is officially prohibited within MacKerricher State Park”
Fort Bragg: A Glass Act
“As I read, I learned that the city opened the first of three dump sites for trash in 1906.”
“The dumping officially stopped in 1967, and environmental cleanup efforts followed.”
✅ The facts
🔗 Related
All sources & image credits
- Mendocino Land Trust: Glass Beach
- Visit California: Glass Beach, Fort Bragg
- California State Parks: MacKerricher State Park map (2026)
- California State Parks: MacKerricher education program page
- IFLScience: Glass Beach Is A Beautiful Sight, But It Has A Grim Origin Story
- National Geographic: Fort Bragg: A Glass Act
- Sonoma Magazine: Fort Bragg’s Famous Glass Beach Named a Must-See Roadside Attraction by HGTV
- Wikipedia: Glass Beach (Fort Bragg, California)
- Wikimedia Commons: Sea Glass on Glass Beach near Fort Bragg.jpg (Ryanx7, 2016)
- Wikimedia Commons: Glass Beach Fort Bragg 2.jpg (Jef Poskanzer, 2006)
- Wikimedia Commons: Sea glass at Glass Beach in Fort Bragg.jpg (Grendelkhan, 2021)
- Hero photo: Ryanx7 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- More photos: Jef Poskanzer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (2006-09-07)
- More photos: Grendelkhan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (2021-10-14)
- Share image: the hero photo on a 16:9 canvas with blurred sides, made from the WAU media copy.
Last checked: 4 November 2026. How we verify art