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Courtesy of Humboldt County CVB
Ferndale
Ferndale
Visit a Victorian village where time stands still
A fairytale come to life, this remote village features carefully preserved Victorian-era century homes, a visual and architectural feast. On a peaceful foggy morning or sunny afternoon, stroll Main Street to see buildings in all their gingerbread finery; many buildings now house B&Bs, artisan chocolatiers, galleries, and craft shops. (Holidays are especially magical, with locals stringing twinkly lights everywhere, and horse-drawn carriages giving clip-clop rides around town.)
"But no, this is no façade dressed up for show only."
But no, this is no façade dressed up for show only. Ferndale is very much a working town, the provenance of Scandinavian, Swiss-Italian, and Portuguese immigrants who settled the tucked-away community in the mid-1800s, drawn here by the booming dairy industry. Read their names in Ferndale’s 1868 cemetery, one of the state’s most beautiful burial sites. Take in sweeping views of the one-square-mile town. Let your eyes follow the Eel River westward to the sea, five miles away—a view little changed since those settlers came here long ago.
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Discover the North Coast
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Romance finds a home in this idyllic coastal region, where ocean fog rolls in from the ocean to blanket hushed redwood forests, and whales spout offshore. Along the coast, artists set up their easels to paint scenes of crashing surf and whitewashed cottages wrapped in rose-filled gardens.
Each year, December through May, look to the sea to witness roughly 15,000 gray whales swimming south for the summer.
It’s also a place where a new generation of farmers and winemakers focus on preserving the land as well as producing amazing food and wine. Favorite escapes include the romantic hamlet of Mendocino, roughly a 3-hour drive up the coast from San Francisco, and Eureka, a former logging town 2 hours further north, and the gateway to breathtaking Redwoods National and State Parks.
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Insider’s Guide to California’s Redwood Coast
Make the most of your trip to this wild and beautiful northern region
What makes California’s Redwood Coast so special? Maybe it’s the primeval wilderness that’s inspired legends from Paul Bunyan to...
Karen Desjardin/Getty Images
Best Beaches on the North Coast
Explore the breathtaking scenery of the wild Sonoma and Mendocino coasts—from sandy shores to the top of a lighthouse
North of San Francisco, there's a whole other world of California, where rugged cliffs, towering redwood trees, and artsy towns dot an idyllic...
Courtesy of County of Lake
Clear Lake
Explore a burgeoning wine scene and cool off with a summery splash in the lake
Take a deep breath the next time you’re in Northern California’s Lake County. That’s some of...
Clear Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake within California, is the oldest lake in North America and possibly the world.
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Mendocino National Forest
Go hiking, boating, and wildlife-watching at this sprawling monument
Spanning 330,780 acres of public land, Mendocino National Forest became...
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Spotlight: Mendocino
Discover a coastal paradise with ridiculously fresh seafood, amazing wine, and craft beer
With its dramatic ocean-bluff setting overlooking a steel-blue sea, this coastal hamlet is an obvious magnet for artists, romantics, and lovers of...
5 Amazing Things to Do in Crescent City
This North Coast town is home to awe-inspiring forests, river rapids, and good beer
Head to the tippy top of California’s northern coastline to see this sea-faring city with two lighthouses, redwoods, and an ever-changing wildlife...
Clint Farlinger/Alamy
Klamath
Redwoods, salmon, and California’s largest tribe all thrive in this small North Coast town
Klamath is so far north that many people assume this tiny town is in Oregon, not California. Set along its...
November
Winter rains signal the beginning of the North Coast’s astounding mushroom season: the Mendocino region is home to some 3,000 varieties, many of them edible, like the rare candy cap mushroom with...
Brendan McGuigan
Erik Pawassar
Spotlight: Redwood National & State Parks
Big trees, lush lands
Hugging California's northwestern edge, a spectacular network of parks protecting nearly half of the world’s coast redwoods, the world’s tallest...
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From Gold Rush history to the 8th wonder of the world, visit these favorites
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Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.
Harriot Manley/Sunset Publishing
Trip 8-10 days 10 stops
Ultimate Northern California
Explore the best of Northern California's Great Outdoors
It may measure less than 50 square miles/130 square kilometers, but San Francisco justly ranks as one of the greatest cities in the world. Famous for grand-dame Victorians, classic cable cars, dynamic diversity, a beautiful waterfront, and a...
Tucked into an ocean-facing fold of Mount Tamalpais, the signature peak just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, Muir Woods National Monument protects the last stand of uncut old-growth coast redwoods in the Bay Area,...
At 115 feet, Point Arena Lighthouse is the tallest climbable lighthouse on the West Coast.
Harriot Manley/ Sunset Publishing
North Coast Wine Country
Slip away to some of the state’s most peaceful vineyards
From quiet vineyards bounded by lush redwood forests along the Mendocino Coast, to the sun-drenched rolling hills of rugged Lake County, the North...
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Follow celebrated routes to iconic vineyards and tucked-away surprises
With more than 4,000 wineries statewide, California lets you sample award-winning wines almost anywhere you go. These classic and up-and-coming wine roads—some too packed with wineries to tackle...
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Celebrate the seasonal bounty and quirky art-fueled character of the North Coast
You can learn a lot about a place at its local festivals. Consider the Kinetic Grand Championship, a cosmically silly three-day battle between human-powered works of art (imagine a speeding dragon...
Start your trip to one of the world’s great cities. For a novel way to explore “the City by the Bay” park your car and explore by foot, bike, and unique public transportation. Pedal bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge and back, then explore...
The last stop on this spectacular road trip ends at the very last city in California. Only 20 miles south of Oregon, sea-faring Crescent City is home to the northernmost of California’s lighthouse stations. Overlooking the town’s harbor, the 1856...
The Humboldt County Fair began in 1896 and is the oldest running county fair in California.
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Wine & Dine in the North Coast
Sample hyper-local foods from land and sea, plus amazing beers and wines
The North Coast might just be the perfect place to eat. Few other places in the world can offer such a harmonious blend of chefs, farmers,...
May
Contraptions, creations, and creativity—those are the mantras for this wacky three-day event on an out-there stretch of the North Coast. Contestants must maneuver their handmade, people-powered...
Erik Fitzpatrick/Flickr
Lucas Himovitz
Fort Bragg
Rough-and-tumble lumber town morphs into a top coastal find
With its original roots as a military garrison and then a gritty lumber town, Fort Bragg skirted under the radar of most visitors. But now—perhaps...
Courtesy of Skunk Train
Skunk Train
Ride a historic train through soaring coast redwoods
Originally built to transport redwood logs from the rugged backcountry to the coast, this 1885 heritage railroad now ferries sightseers to and fro...
Courtesy of Humboldt County CVB
Eureka
Nature and culture merge in an art-fueled Victorian seaport
This lively seaport town, the largest coastal city between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, has split-personality charm: a sense of history in...
While now a beautiful coastal treasure, Glass Beach initially began in the late 1940s as a place where locals would toss their trash, including glass bottles.
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Find whitewater rafting fun for all—from newbies to nerves-of-steel experts
Think of a river, and chances are you’ve got your own daydream. Maybe you want to float on inner tubes, or maybe your style is to careen through raucous rapids in an eight-person inflatable raft....
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Discover the North Coast
The North Coast might just be the perfect place to eat. Few other places in the world can offer such a harmonious blend of chefs, farmers, fishermen, and foragers working...
Discover the North Coast
From quiet vineyards bounded by lush redwood forests along the Mendocino Coast, to the sun-drenched rolling hills of rugged Lake County, the North Coast has about as...
Discover the Deserts
With world-class golf courses set against dramatic desert landscapes and top-quality tennis courts beneath towering palms, two sports get classy treatment in the Palm...