It covers 9 miles (14 km) of coastline and contains several types of coastal habitat, including beaches, dunes, headlands, coves, wetlands, tide pools, forest, and a freshwater lake.

The Ten Mile River marks the upper boundary of the park, and several creeks drain run through the landscape and into the Pacific Ocean.

[1] The park contains 95% of the entire distribution of the rare Mendocino spineflower (Chorizanthe howellii), which grows in the protected dunes of the Inglenook Preserve.

There are more than 90 species of birds, including migratory waterfowl and permanent residents such as ospreys, great blue herons, ring-necked ducks, and mallards.

Trains brought logs from the Ten Mile River to the Fort Bragg sawmill until the rails were replaced by a haul road for logging trucks in 1949,[6] when descendants of Duncan and Jessie MacKerricher sold the MacKerricher property to the state of California, which made it a state park.

After decades of friction in the tides, the discarded, broken glass has been reduced to smooth, attractive trinkets sought by casual collectors.

[9] The haul road has not been subsequently maintained, and the portion north of the washout is being destroyed by the park as a habitat restoration measure.