Many visitors to Patrick's Point like to visit the town of
Trinidad, just five miles south of the park. The first incorporated town on the North and the smallest incorporated town in California with just 325 residents; the site of Trinidad was discovered and described on Trinity Sunday in 1775 by the Spanish maritime explorer, Captain Bruno de Hezeta. The town was founded in April 1850 and enjoyed a flurry of activity for a few years, when it was the port from which miners and supplies reached the Trinity Mines and later the miner's camps at Gold Bluffs Beach in present-day Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.
Trinidad once had some 3,000 residents and served as the county seat from 1851 to 1854, but once the gold rush was over everyone left. Today, park visitors enjoy scenic vistas of the rugged coastline and Trinidad Bay. Boat launching and rentals are available, as are Party boats for fishing expeditions.