In March 2002, the final donations were received for the $26.7 million needed to purchase the Big River watershed, immediately adjacent to the village of Mendocino. After the purchase, Big River was handed over to the California state parks system, and it is currently the Big River Unit of Mendocino Headlands State Park. It will eventually become a separate park when funding allows. In addition to the natural beauty and wildlife along the river, an old logging roads allow mountain bikers to reach two adjacent state parks and the Jackson State Forest. In late summer, the best blackberries in the world can be found out this road.