Places to Explore In The North Coast

Anderson Valley

At the town of Albion, Highway 128 leads southeast into the Anderson Valley, Mendocino's primary wine-growing region. Most of the first 13 miles wind through...

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Arcata

Begun in 1850 as a base camp for miners and loggers, Arcata is an arts-oriented college town that's close to the southernmost Thomas H. Kuchel...

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• 0 Things To Do

Avenue of the Giants

Conservationists banded together a century ago as the Save the Redwoods League and scored a crucial victory when a memorial grove was dedicated in 1921...

• 0 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 2 Things To Do

Bodega Bay

Pockets of modernity notwithstanding, this commercial fishing town retains the workaday vibe of its cinematic turn in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). Little from the...

• 7 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 2 Things To Do

Boonville

At first glance Boonville, population a little more than 1,000, looks pretty much as it has for decades, with the 19th-century Boonville Hotel anchoring the...

• 4 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 5 Things To Do

Crescent City

The headquarters of RNSP and its northern gateway, this small oceanfront city offers close access to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park's tall trees, Del Norte...

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Elk

In this quiet town on the cliff above Greenwood Cove, just about every spot has a view of the rocky coastline and stunning Pacific sunsets...

• 3 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 1 Things To Do

Eureka

An excellent place to fuel up, buy groceries, and learn a little about the region's mining, timber, and fishing pasts, historic Eureka was named after...

• 2 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 6 Things To Do

Ferndale

Ferndale, best known for its colorful Victorian architecture, is worth the 5-mile detour off U.S. 101. Many shops and the local museum carry a self-guided...

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Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg is a working-class town that many feel is the most authentic place on the coast. The city maintains a local vibe since most...

• 5 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 6 Things To Do

Fort Ross State Historic Park

With its reconstructed Russian Orthodox chapel, stockade, and officials' quarters, Fort Ross looks much the way it did after the Russians made it their major...

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Gualala

This former lumber port on the Gualala River, a good base for exploring the southern Mendocino coast, has all the basic services plus an arts...

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Hopland

U.S. 101 briefly narrows to one lane in each direction to become this small town's main drag. For many years a center for the cultivation...

• 2 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 6 Things To Do

Humboldt Redwoods State Park

Conservationists banded together a century ago as the Save the Redwoods League and scored a crucial victory when a memorial grove was dedicated in 1921...

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• 0 Hotels
• 0 Things To Do

Jenner

The Russian River empties into the Pacific Ocean at Jenner, a wide spot in the road where houses dot a mountainside high above the sea...

• 2 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 2 Things To Do

Klamath

Surrounded by parkland and 13 miles north of RNSP's Prairie Creek Visitor Center, Klamath is a hub of the indigenous Yurok people, who make up...

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Little River

The town of Little River is not much more than a post office and a convenience store; Albion, its neighbor to the south, is even...

• 2 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 1 Things To Do

Mendocino

A flourishing logging town in the late-19th century, Mendocino seduces 21st-century travelers with windswept cliffs, phenomenal Pacific Ocean views, and boomtown-era New England–style architecture. Following...

• 3 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 5 Things To Do

Occidental

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Philo

Many wineries straddle Highway 128 in Philo, where the tasting rooms are more low-key than their counterparts in Napa. The wineries here, however, produce world-class...

• 0 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 9 Things To Do

Point Arena

Occupied by longtime locals and long-haired surfers, this former timber town on Highway 1 is part New Age, part rowdy, and always laid-back. The one...

• 2 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 2 Things To Do

Salt Point State Park

Enjoy dramatic views, forested acres, and a rocky, rugged shoreline along Highway 1’s 5-mile route through this park. With the hiking, picnicking, horseback riding, scuba...

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Trinidad

A mellow base for exploring the southern portion of Redwood National and State Parks, coastal Trinidad got its name from the Spanish mariners who entered...

• 3 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 1 Things To Do

Ukiah

About 16,000 people live in Ukiah, the Mendocino County seat and largest town. Logging and beer hops were two prominent industries starting in the late-19th...

• 1 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do