Arcata

The North Coast town of Arcata is often shrouded in marine-layer mist, but that never dampens its optimistic, earth-first energy. Surrounded by the wild beauty of Humboldt Bay, the Mad River, and ancient redwood forests, Arcata’s 18,000 residents have plenty of reasons to embrace a nature-loving lifestyle.

Sustainability in Arcata

The town’s eco-green policies have earned it the nickname “Sixties by the Sea,” but locals take sustainability seriously: The community owns and manages a redwood forest and a wastewater facility that creates a wildlife habitat. Other eco-friendly town additions include a zero-emission electric bus fleet, a bikeshare program that makes bikes accessible to everyone, and a year-round farmers’ market. 

Stop by Arcata’s historic plaza and chat with friendly, down-to-earth residents over artisan coffee or locally brewed beer, and you’ll soon understand why Mother Nature gets top billing here.

Historic Landmarks and Shops at Arcata Plaza

In Arcata Plaza, a sprawling central square marked by two towering palm trees, exercisers do tai-chi and hula hoopers perform hip-swinging tricks. Well-preserved Victorian buildings stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the plaza’s perimeter, housing coffee shops, cafes, and boutiques. The crown jewel is Jacoby’s Storehouse, a three-story mercantile built in 1857. Behind its blue-and-gold Classical Revival façade, you’ll find shops, offices, and the Arcata Chamber of Commerce tucked into hallways filled with carved woodwork, creaky floors, lavender glass, and redwood-themed light fixtures.

Also on the plaza, vintage shop Shipwreck stocks one-of-a-kind treasures, from 1970s jumpsuits to 21st-century handbags. Arcata Artisans Cooperative exhibits the work of nearly two dozen Humboldt County artists. Humboldt Outfitters offers made-in-Arcata apparel, plus Bigfoot postcards, mushroom oven mitts, and huggable banana slug plush toys. Libation wine bar offers wine and sake flights in a window-lined space overlooking the plaza.  

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Hiking and Biking in Arcata

On Humboldt Bay’s northern edge, Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary serves triple duty as the town’s innovative wastewater treatment facility, a home for hundreds of bird species, and a trail-laced hiking preserve. Five miles of paths lace the 307-acre preserve’s freshwater and brackish marshes, tidal sloughs, and mudflats. Explore on your own or join a free guided tour that starts at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center.

A few blocks from downtown, the Arcata Community Forest is a beloved local playground and source of civic pride. The community-owned redwood forest offers a network of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding that fan out across 790 acres.

The misty-cool fog that helps the redwoods grow makes Arcata’s beaches ideal for soulful strolling, but not sunbathing. Beachcombers and clam diggers head to the windswept white sands of Clam Beach, 7 miles north of town. The beach is also the northern trailhead for the 5.5-mile Hammond Trail, an easy-pedaling bike route that starts at the Mad River Bridge.

Another pleasant biking path is the recently completed Humboldt Bay Trail, a paved 4.3-mile stretch between Arcata and Eureka. It’s part of the Great Redwood Trail, a trail-in-progress that will someday extend 320 miles from San Francisco Bay to Humboldt Bay.

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Cal Poly Humboldt

Many students at California State Polytechnic University Humboldt major in environmental studies or natural resources management, but even the business, engineering, and art departments incorporate sustainability lessons into classes. Visitors can stroll the campus and tour the Cal Poly Humboldt Natural History Museum, filled with Paleozoic fossils, prehistoric human skulls, and a beehive you can see inside.

Restaurants in Arcata

There’s no better way to eat raw fish than at a sushi bar near the Pacific, and Arcata’s raw bars deliver on that ideal. Make reservations for the chef-guided omakase menu at Tanuki’s Den, or string together a multiday sushi tour around town: Try Sushi Tao for smoked salmon skin, Sushi Spot for hamachi with serrano peppers, Tomo for tempura yam rolls, Obento for inari pockets, and and Nori for green mussels.

Seafood-focused Salt turns out aromatic plates of chipotle-glazed halibut, ceviche tostadas, and charred octopus, plus colorful cocktails like the tequila-infused Green Flash. Modern steakhouse Campground takes advantage of local ranches—chefs grill prime cuts of beef over mesquite and almond wood.

For more casual fare, Arcata Pizza and Deli has a mile-long menu that includes pizza, burgers, cheesesteaks, Reubens, and perfectly crispy fish and chips. Slice of Humboldt Pie is a favorite local hangout for savory and sweet dough-based dishes: Order a chicken pot pie or hand-held empanada to start, then finish with a flaky apple pie or peanut butter pie.

Café Mokka is a legendary Arcata institution that offers coffee or chai in a serene setting, plus a surprising bonus: Reserve in advance so you can soak in the private outdoor hot tubs at jointly owned Finnish Country Sauna and Tubs.

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Breweries in Arcata

Sample an imperial stout or Belgian tripel at Redwood Curtain Brewing Company, a local favorite since 2010, or visit Pale Moon Brewing Company, a one-man nanobrewery focusing on German pilsners, porters, and IPAs. Humboldt Brews doesn’t brew their own beer, but 25 rotating taps pour the best creations from all over Humboldt County. The kitchen serves Humboldt grass-fed beef and organic tofu, and live bands play several nights a week.

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Arcata Events

Every year in late May, an outrageously offbeat endurance race takes place along a 42-mile course between Arcata and Ferndale. The three-day Kinetic Grand Championship pits engineering-minded artists against each other in a race of human-built, human-powered contraptions that must navigate land, sea, mud, and sand dunes. The extraordinary event got started in 1969, when a Humbolt County artist decided to gussy up his son’s tricycle and ride it down the street.

Arcata has more traditional festivals, too, including the North Country Fair and Harvest Festival in September, a zero-waste craft and food event that’s been held annually since 1974. The festival includes live music on three stages and the popular All Species Parade, in which participants dress up as their favorite animals (real or mythological).

In June, the annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival honors the tasty bivalves that grow in Arcata Bay, and the Arcata Fairy Festival provides the opportunity to dress up in flower crowns and fairy wings and celebrate all things magical.

Day Trips from Arcata

Arcata is centrally located in Humboldt County, providing easy access to the astoundingly tall coastal redwood trees—some higher than 370 feet—in Redwood National and State Parks. A 40-minute drive will take you to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, where you can marvel at majestic tule elk and Instagram-famous Fern Canyon. 

Eight miles south of Arcata, the city of Eureka is filled with picture-perfect Victorians and colorful murals. Sixteen miles north, remote Trinidad beckons with its seaside headlands and teacup harbor.

MORE: Insider’s Guide to California’s Redwood Coast

Where to Stay in Arcata
For a romantic getaway, book a stay at the river-stone-and-redwood Front Porch Inn, where you’ll find enchanting hippie-haven vibes combined with modern conveniences. Your stay includes a soak in a private tub surrounded by ferns and/or a long steam session in a cedar sauna.

The historic Hotel Arcata has held a prestigious spot on Arcata Plaza since 1915. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel’s glorious past is on display, including clawfoot tubs in some rooms and suites. Arcata has several dependable name-brand hotels, too, including Hampton Inn and Suites Arcata, Best Western Arcata Inn, and Comfort Inn Arcata.

How to Get to Arcata

Road-trippers can drive from San Francisco to Arcata via U.S. 101 in about five hours—it’s just 5 miles north of Eureka. Flying to Arcata is easy: Nine miles away, the California Redwood Coast/Humboldt County Airport hosts commercial flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, Las Vegas, Burbank, and Provo.