Hare Creek

{{Short description|Stream in Mendocino County, California}}

{{About|the stream in California|the stream in Pennsylvania|Hare Creek (Brokenstraw Creek tributary)}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|cs1-dates=ly|date=January 2023}}

{{Use list-defined references|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Hare Creek

| image = Hare Creek at Bunker Gulch (2017).png

| country = United States

| state = California

| region_type = County

| region = Mendocino

| subdivision_type4 = Protected area

| subdivision_name4 = Jackson Demonstration State Forest

| length_mi = 8

| width_min = {{Convert|3|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| width_avg = {{Convert|12|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| width_max = {{Convert|30|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| depth_min = {{Convert|0.2|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| depth_avg = {{Convert|1|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| depth_max = {{Convert|8.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| discharge1_location = Creek mouth

| discharge1_avg = {{Convert|1.5|ft3/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}

| discharge2_location = Valley Road (end)

| discharge2_avg = {{Convert|2|ft3/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}

| discharge3_location = Covington Gulch

| discharge3_avg = {{Convert|1|ft3/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}

| source1 = Bunker Gulch

| source1_coordinates = {{Coord|39.3862|-123.7274}}

| source1_elevation = {{Convert|680|ft|m|abbr=on}} above MSL

| mouth = Pacific Ocean

| mouth_coordinates = {{Coord|39.41718|-123.81290|display=inline,title}}

| mouth_coord_ref = {{R|cdfwsir2017}}

| mouth_elevation = Local mean sea level

| basin_size_mi2 = 5.2

| tributaries_left = South Fork Hare Creek

| tributaries_right = Covington Creek

| custom_label = Gradient

| custom_data = 61{{Abbr|ft/mi|feet per mile}} (11.6{{Abbr|m/km|meters per kilometer}})

| extra = {{Infobox mapframe|wikidata=yes|point=on|stroke-color=#27e|stroke-width=4|marker=water|marker-color=#45bbf0|zoom=12}}

---

Source: {{R|cdfwsir2017}}

}}

Hare Creek is a small stream in Mendocino County, California,{{Cite gnis|224932|Hare Creek|January 29, 2023|mode=cs2}} just south of Fort Bragg. It is approximately {{Convert|12.4|km|mi}} long and all but the final {{Convert|1.14|mi|km}} of its watercourse lies within Jackson Demonstration State Forest. With its four tributaries, it drains an area of approximately {{Convert|2400|ha|mi2}}. Its watershed is bordered on the north by the Noyo River, and on the south by Digger Creek. It is a significant habitat for coho salmon.{{R|noaa}} It meets the Pacific Ocean at Hare Creek Beach, also known as Babcock Beach, which is owned and operated by the Mendocino Land Trust.{{R|beach}}

A railway line, the Caspar & Hare Creek Railroad, had formerly carried logs {{Convert|6|mi|km}} from Hare Creek to a sawmill on Jug Handle Creek.{{R|mcmrhs}}

The Hare Creek Bridge, also known as the Sergeant Emil H. Evensen Memorial Bridge, carries California State Route 1 over the creek, just south of its junction with the western terminus of California State Route 20. Like the Frederick W. Panhorst Bridge and the Jug Handle Bridge several miles to the south, it is a reinforced concrete open-spandrel deck arch bridge, but differs from them in having two partial side arches. It was originally built in 1947.{{R|bridgehunter}} In 2007, its substructure was rated to be in good condition, but its deck was classified as "poor".{{R|beacon}} A Caltrans project, planned to begin in 2025, is set to widen the bridge, upgrade its rails, and retrofit it for seismic safety standards.{{R|caltrans}}

In September 2022, the Mendocino County Public Health Office issued a warning to avoid contact with the water at the creek's mouth after routine sampling discovered dangerously high levels of enterococcus bacteria.{{R|bacteria2022}}