The section of headlands along the south side of Main Street in Mendocino is narrow and covered by blackberry and rose brambles.

To the west and north of town, the headlands widen to a region of coastal prairie crossed by Heeser Road and several footpaths.

Ford House Museum, at the eastern end of the town of Mendocino on the headlands side of Main Street, is the park headquarters and visitor center.

It can be reached via footpaths from the east end of Mendocino (on Main Street behind the Presbyterian Church) or from a parking lot on the inland side of State Route 1 that also serves the Big River Unit.

The park was created on July 30, 2002, after a group of donors, nonprofit organizations, and agencies, led by the Mendocino Land Trust, collected over 25 million dollars to purchase the property from the Hawthorne Timber Company and conveyed it to the California State Park system.