Rating: C
On warm days, local residents can often be found at a swimming hole with a small riverbank beach just outside the town of Willow Creek and east of Willow Creek Bridge. But not everyone there is naked. “On the day I went there wasn’t anybody nude, but I know other people who like to get naked there,” says a visitor who went with his girlfriend and found several other couples present.
Legal status:
Unknown
How to find it:
From the coast, go east on Highway 299 to Willow Creek, some 30 minutes from Arcata. After crossing Willow Creek Bridge, check your odometer Less than a mile east of the bridge, pull off the highway to your left onto a little dirt road that runs parallel to the highway. The road has small shrubby oaks on either side. After 100 meters or so, it ends at the beach parking area. Park and take the path down to the creek.
The beach:
A mix of sand and rocks.
The crowd:
Few persons visit Willow Creek Bridge beach; those who do may be nude or suited.
Problems:
Unknown legal status; rocky river bottom; cold water; needs better directions.