Tolowa Dunes State Park is a 5000 acres (20.2 km²) California State Park located on California's far North Coast

North Coast, California

The North Coast of California is a region which commonly includes Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte counties...

. Encompassing Lake Earl

Lake Earl (California)

Lake Earl is a navigable body of water in Del Norte County, California, in the United States, partly within Tolowa Dunes State Park and partly within Lake Earl Wildlife Area...

 and Lake Tolowa and a significant portion of the relatively large coastal plain around it, this park - a sanctuary for bird life - is easily reached by US 101 just north of Crescent City, California

Crescent City, California

Crescent City is the county seat and only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California. Named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city, Crescent City had a total population of 7,643 in the 2010 census, up from 4,006 in the 2000 census...

. The name refers to the Tolowa

Tolowa

The Tolowa are a Native American tribe. They still reside in their traditional territories in northwestern California and southern Oregon. Tolowa are members of the federally recognized Smith River Rancheria, Elk Valley Rancheria, Confederated Tribes of Siletz, as well as the unrecognized Tolowa...

 people, a native group

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

who occupied the area, relatively undisturbed previous to European colonization in the 1850s.