There’s certainly some beautiful spots in northern California, and Fern Canyon is no exception. This was one of the filming locations for The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which made it extra cool to go and see. It was so beautiful with the vibrant green leaves and ferns, as well as the sunlight filtering through. We got lottery tickets with two other families so Kai and Reya had friends to hike with for the day. While walking the path we stumbled upon two banana slugs, one on the path that the kids moved to a safer spot, and one resting on a cozy fern. It made the kids happy since they were wanting to see one. There was a park ranger sharing information in the park so we stopped to chat for a bit and learned that the banana slug mucus is toxic and will make your mouth go numb. We also learned that only two animals eat them. One is the raccoon, who rubs the slug in the dirt and leaves as a coating to avoid their mucus!

After we emerged from the dinosaur jungle we spent a good amount of time on Gold Bluffs Beach. It was so beautiful to see the northern coastline! Kai and his friend spent time playing in the Pacific Ocean. Reya did some sand angels and learned how to roll down sand dunes with the other girls. Kai also built his own driftwood fort, carrying and dragging some big logs through the sand. He was pretty proud of it! We also had some charcuterie snacks on the beach before continuing on with our day.

We stopped at a few other points of interest on the way back, but these were definitely the highlight! If you’re in the area and can get a permit to go through Fern Canyon, we absolutely recommend it (especially if you’re a Jurassic Park fan)!