Little River Inn
Romantic getaways to this Victorian-style hotel along the Mendocino Coast get extra special when you include a meal. Sitting by the window, looking out at the Little River Inn’s lush gardens to a protected cove, you feel downright spoiled to be dining on local seafood and sipping on the North Coast’s award-winning wines. You don’t have to stay the night to dine here, but it sure is nice to know you can.
Classic preparations get a local nod, such as sole meunière using petrale sole caught by fishing boats based in Noyo Harbor, just up the coast. Other don’t-miss items include green lip mussels with wasabi mayo and fried calamari with Asian slaw.
Enjoy the relaxed elegance of the main restaurant, or head over to Ole’s Whale Watch Bar, a favorite hangout for locals thanks to its own incredible views.
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’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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Clear Lake
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Mendocino National Forest
Spanning 330,780 acres of public land, Mendocino National Forest became...
Spotlight: Mendocino
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Klamath
Klamath is so far north that many people assume this tiny town is in Oregon, not California. Set along its...
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 libation 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...
Trip 8-10 days 10 stops
Ultimate Northern California
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,...
Ferndale
A fairytale come to life, this remote village features carefully preserved Victorian-era century homes, a visual and architectural feast. On a...
North Coast Wine Country
From quiet vineyards bounded by lush redwood forests along the Mendocino Coast, to the sun-drenched rolling hills of rugged Lake County, the North...
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...
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...
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,...
Creativity, contraptions, and costumes—those are the mantras for this wacky three-day Memorial Day weekend event on an out-there stretch of the North Coast. Dubbed the “triathalon of the art world...
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...
Skunk Train
Originally built in 1885 to transport redwood logs from the rugged backcountry to the coast, the...
Eureka
This lively seaport town, the largest coastal city between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, has split-personality charm: a sense of history in...
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....
