Things to do in Eureka
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Blue Ox Millworks & Historic Park
Don't miss Blue Ox Millworks & Historic Park. One of only seven of its kind left in America, the millworks uses antique tools and mills to produce authentic gingerbread trim and decoration for Victorian buildings. One-hour self-guided tours take you through the mill and surrounding historical buildings, including a blacksmith shop and recreated 19th-century skid camp. Kids love the oxen.
Master craftsman Eric Hollenbeck does everything by hand, and even manufactures his own stains. (When colleagues laughed, saying, 'Why waste time making stain when you can buy if for around US$10?,' Eric replied, 'The hidden cost of convenience is knowledge.' Indeed.) If you spend Saturda…
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Fort Humboldt State Historic Park
South of downtown via Hwy 101 to Highland Ave, the 1853 Fort Humboldt State Historic Park overlooks Humboldt Bay. Only one structure remains, the tiny hospital, now a museum, but cool outdoor exhibits show the old equipment used to fell redwoods. The park fires up the machinery on the 3rd Saturday of the month, May through September.
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Restaurant 301
Eureka's top table, romantic, sophisticated 301 serves a contemporary California menu, using produce from its organic gardens (tours available). Mains are pricey, but the five-course prix-fixe menu (around US$45) is a good deal. This is the place on date night. The encyclopedic wine list is stunning.
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Carson Mansion
The most famous of Eureka's impressive Victorians is the ornate Carson Mansion, 1880s home of lumber baron William Carson, designed by Samuel and Joseph Newsom, the famous 19th-century architects. It took 100 men a full year to build. Today it's a private club.
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Carter House
Who says they don't build houses like that anymore? The Carter House, was built in the 1980s by bon vivant Mark Carter, using 19th-century blueprints he'd found in an antique store. He's a local celeb; you can meet him at the Hotel Carter, across the street.
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Morris Graves Museum of Art
The Morris Graves Museum of Art is Eureka's cultural hub and has rotating exhibitions of California artists inside a 1904 Carnegie library, the state's first public library. It hosts weekend jazz, dance and spoken-word performances (September to May).
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Hum-Boats Sail, Canoe & Kayak Center
The Hum-Boats Sail, Canoe & Kayak Center , at Woodley Island Marina, rents kayaks and sailboats. They have lessons and tours (some dog-friendly), eco-tours, a water taxi, sailboat charters, sunset sails and full-moon paddles.
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Romano Gabriel Wooden Sculpture Garden
The Romano Gabriel Wooden Sculpture Garden is enclosed by glass, between D and E Sts. For 30 years the brightly painted folk art in Gabriel's front yard delighted locals. After he died in 1977, the city moved the collection here.
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Shanty
Kick it on the patio with hipsters at this way-cool grunge bar, where you can play Donkey Kong, pool or Ping Pong between shots. Shanty is gay-friendly, but not gay per se. Sunday there's a bloody Mary bar, 10:00 to 14:00.
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Madaket
Cruising the harbor aboard the blue-and-white 1910 Madaket is also fun. It departs from the foot of F St and the $10 sunset cocktail cruise serves from the smallest licensed bar in the state.
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Waterfront Cafe Oyster Bar & Grill
The Waterfront overlooks the bay from its casual vintage-Victorian dining room and serves steamed clams, fish and chips, oysters and chowder. Top spot for Sunday brunch, with jazz and Ramos fizzes.
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O.H.'s Townhouse
Pick your own meat from the display case at Eureka's best steakhouse, which hasn't changed a whit since 1978 (think wood-veneer paneling). The mushy veggies are awful, but the steaks are delish.
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Hurricane Kate's
The favorite spot of local bon vivants, Kate's open kitchen pumps out pretty-good, eclectic, tapas-style dishes and roast meats, but the wood-fired pizzas are the standout. Full bar.
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Cafe Marina & Woodley's Bar
For an atmospheric sunny-day lunch, watch the bobbing sailboat masts in the small-craft harbor from the deck of Cafe Marina, which makes great bloodies and pretty good American food.
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Kyoto
The chef-owner lovingly crafts every plate at this tiny Japanese joint, where the waiter tells bad jokes while serving good sushi and sake-marinated deep-sea cod. Make reservations.
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Wedding Mansion
The pink house opposite the Carson Mansion is the Wedding Mansion. It's an 1884 Queen Anne Victorian by the same architects, built as a wedding gift for Carson's son.
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Sequoia Park
Sequoia Park, boasts not only a 77-acre old-growth redwood grove, but it also has biking and hiking trails, a children's playground and picnic areas, and a small zoo.
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Roy's
If Eureka had a Mafia, this is where they'd come to eat their pasta. The five-cheese ravioli and balsamic vinaigrette are delicious, but avoid complicated dishes.
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La Chapala
For Mexican, family-owned La Chapala is consistently good. The margaritas are cheap - around a liter! Don't get so hammered you forget to order the homemade flan.
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Pro Sport Center
The Pro Sport Center has a full-service bike-repair shop (no rentals) and sells camping gear; they rent and sell kayaks, and scuba diving and skiing gear.
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