Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
North Coast & Redwoods
Famous for some of the world's best virgin redwood groves and unspoiled coastline, this 14,000-acre section of Redwood National & State Parks has…
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This is not the legendary California of the Beach Boys' song – there are no palm-flanked beaches and very few surfboards. The jagged edge of the continent is wild, scenic and even slightly foreboding, where spectral fog and an outsider spirit have fostered the world’s tallest trees, most potent weed and a string of idiosyncratic two-stoplight towns. Explore hidden coves with a blanket and a bottle of local wine, scan the horizon for migrating whales and retreat at night to fire-warmed Victorians. As you travel further north, find valleys of redwood, wide rivers and mossy, overgrown forests. Expect cooler, damper weather too. Befitting this dramatic clash of land and water are its unlikely mélange of residents: timber barons and tree huggers, pot farmers and radicals of every political persuasion.
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
North Coast & Redwoods
Famous for some of the world's best virgin redwood groves and unspoiled coastline, this 14,000-acre section of Redwood National & State Parks has…
Grace Hudson Museum & Sun House
Along Highway 101
One block east of State St, the collection’s mainstays are paintings by Grace Hudson (1865–1937). Her sensitive depictions of Pomo people and other…
Coastal Highway 1
This iconic lighthouse was constructed in 1870, destroyed in a 1906 earthquake and then rebuilt in 1908. It remains the tallest on the US West Coast (tied…
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
Coastal Highway 1
This gem of Northern California displays native flora, rhododendrons and heritage roses. The succulent display alone is amazing and the organic garden is…
Along Highway 101
Sustainably grown, harvested and produced, ‘America’s Greenest Winery’ offers affordable, bold, earthy reds. The tasting room, lined in brick with low…
Along Highway 101
If you visit one boutique winery in Lake County make it Olof Cellars. The wines are excellent – most are reds aged for a minimum of three years – and the…
Along Highway 101
The Italian Graziano family is one of the oldest grape-growing families in Mendocino County and specializes in ‘Cal-Ital’ wines – including Primitivo,…
Along Highway 101
Sample standout (and organic!) Pinot Gris, Valdiguié and Pinot Noir from a stunning hilltop tasting room tucked into the forest.
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Hiking
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