Glass Beach is a beach adjacent to Mackerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, California, named from a time when it was abundant with sea glass created from years of dumping garbage into an area of coastline near the northern part of the town.
In 1906, Fort Bragg residents established an official water dump site behind the Union Lumber Company onto what is now known as "Site 1". Most water-fronted communities had water dump sites discarding glass, appliances, and even vehicles. Locals referred to it as "The Dumps." Fires were often lit using Molotov cocktails to reduce the size of the trash pile.
When the original dump site filled up in 1943, the site was moved to what is now known as "Site 2", the active dump site from 1943 until 1949. When this beach became full in 1949, the dump was moved north to what is now known as "Glass Beach", which remained an active dump site until 1967.
There are three Glass Beach sites in Fort Bragg where trash was dumped into the ocean between 1906 and 1967. Site Two (1943–1949) and Three (1949–1967 – "Glass Beach") are located at the end of the path that begins on the corner of Elm Street and Glass Beach Drive. These sites are accessible by foot and by a short climb down the cliffs surrounding the beach. Site One (1906–43) is 1⁄4 mile south of Site Two and has become accessible by foot as of January 2015 when the northern section of the new Coastal Trail in Fort Bragg opened.
The beach is now visited by tens of thousands of tourists yearly. Collecting is discouraged by State Park Rangers on the section of "Glass Beach" adjacent to the state park, where they ask people to leave what little glass is left for others to enjoy, although most of the sea glass is now found on the other two glass beaches outside the state park area
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