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Skunk Train
Northern California
Discover the North Coast

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 is also a place where a new generation of farmers and wine makers focus on preserving the land as well as producing amazing food and wine. Favourite 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.
Insider’s Guide to California’s Redwood Coast
What makes California’s Redwood Coast so special? Maybe it’s the primeval wilderness that’s inspired legends from Paul Bunyan to...
Mendocino National Forest
Spanning 133862 hectares of public land, Mendocino National Forest...
5 Amazing Things to do in Crescent City
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...
Best Beaches on the North Coast
Klamath
Klamath is so far north that many people assume this tiny town is in Oregon, not California. Set along its...
Eric Hollenbeck didn’t plan to be a time traveler, or a museum curator, or a model of how to take care of troubled youth or returning war vets....
Winter rains signal the beginning of the North Coast’s astounding mushroom season. Celebrate the harvest of one of the region’s most loved bounties—and a few other products of the liquid variety—...

Spotlight: Redwood National & State Parks
Hugging California's northwestern edge, a spectacular network of parks protecting nearly half of the world’s coast redwoods, the world’s tallest...
Spotlight: Mendocino
With its dramatic ocean-bluff setting overlooking to a steel-blue sea, this coastal hamlet is an obvious magnet for artists, romantics, and lovers...
North Coast Wine Country
From quiet vineyards surrounded by lush redwood forests along the Mendocino Coast, to the sun-drenched rolling hills of rugged Lake County,...
Clear Lake
Take a deep breath the next time you’re in Northern California’s Lake County. That’s some of...
Wine & Dine in 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,...
With more than 3,000 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...
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...

Ferndale
A fairytale come to life, this remote village features carefully preserved Victorian-era century homes, a visual and architectural feast. On a...
Creativity, contraptions and costumes—those are the mantras for this wacky three-day Memorial Day weekend (last weekend in May) event on a wild stretch of the North Coast. Dubbed the 'triathalon...
Eureka
This lively seaport town, the largest coastal city between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, has a split personality charm: a sense of history...
When you come to California, come hungry. This is a state that seriously knows how to cook. Amazing and innovative chefs sprinkled with Michelin stars work with local farms and artisanal food...
Fort Bragg
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...
