Ukiah

Ukiah is both a place and a lifestyle, sitting snugly at the intersection of rustic Americana and wine country sophistication.

One hundred miles north of San Francisco, the small, vineyard-dotted Mendocino County town delivers on the unexpected: In a single weekend, you can visit an art museum, hike in a redwood grove, browse chic boutiques housed in 19th-century buildings, and bliss out in natural mineral springs.

Shopping in Ukiah

Ukiah’s tree-shaded downtown may be compact, but it punches above its weight for one-of-a-kind shopping. Within a few blocks of School and State streets, you can browse for jewelry and home decor at Three Sisters; covet clever cooking gadgets at Hometown Store Kitchen and Gifts; admire artwork made by local creatives at Corner Gallery Ukiah; or shop for hand-crafted gifts at Mendocino Bounty.

Bookworms can catch up on the latest book releases at Mendocino Book Company, while fashion lovers can take home a new favorite sundress, jacket, or sunglasses from La Tre or Jax Boutique. After, celebrate your good taste with a lavender latte at Black Oak Coffee Roasters.

Where to Eat and Drink in Ukiah

Ukiah successfully merges quaint 19th-century architecture with thoroughly modern cuisine. Case in point: Ukiah Brewing Company, the country’s first certified-organic brew pub, is housed inside an 1889 building crowned by a rooftop dome. Guests can dine on a malted sourdough pizza or bison burger on toasted brioche, then sip an oatmeal stout while watching live music on the downstairs stage.

If you’re craving sweets, dessert is just around the corner: The Nook spoons up intriguing gelato flavors like purple ube and matcha green tea.

Local farms and ranches bring the bounty to Ukiah’s restaurants. At Cultivo, chef Fernando Plazola makes the most of his wood-fired Mugnaini oven by topping pizzas with wild boar sausage, Point Reyes blue cheese, and fennel pollen. At date-night-ready Patrona, the menu is ever-changing, but expect to find dishes made with locally farmed quinoa and olives and fresh fish caught in North Coast waters. The wine list leans heavily toward Mendocino County.

If you’d like to sip Ukiah’s wines directly from the source, pop in for a tasting at family-owned Rivino Winery or Nelson Family Vineyards, just south of town.

Arts and Culture in Ukiah

Pass through a trio of arches to enter the meditative grounds of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, one of the West’s largest Buddhist communities and a working monastery.

Visitors can observe rituals and services in the Jewelled Hall, a temple lined with alcoves holding 10,000 Buddha statuettes. Watch for the colorful peacocks that roam the campus, and time your visit for midday to dine at the monastery’s lauded vegetarian restaurant, Jyun Kang.

You’ll find a completely different cultural experience at Ukiah’s Grace Hudson Museum, which honors the work of early 20th-century painter Grace Carpenter Hudson. Together with her ethnographer husband, Hudson set out to study the Pomo Indian people of Northern California and preserve their images in her paintings, which are on display.

The museum also features a permanent exhibit of Pomo baskets and rotating exhibits of contemporary Mendocino County artists. Adjacent to the museum is the Sun House, a 1911 Craftsman bungalow where the Hudsons lived and worked.

Mineral Springs in Ukiah

Three miles from downtown, the bubbly springs at Vichy Springs Resort have the same chemical makeup as the famous carbonated waters of Vichy, France (both are rich in carbon dioxide). Plan a day trip to the resort—or stay overnight in a cottage or room—then parcel out your time in the 104-degree soaking pool, 90-degree carbonated mineral baths, and 80-degree swimming pool.

By soaking in these waters, you join an elite club that dates back to 1854. Teddy Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and Jack London are a few of Vichy Springs’ famous soakers.

Hiking Near Ukiah

A winding half-hour drive takes you to Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve, one of California’s pristine coastal redwood groves. Walk the 2-mile Montgomery Trail along Montgomery Creek to feel the awe of this silent, ancient forest filled with 300-foot-tall trees.

In spring, Lake Mendocino offers hikers and mountain bikers a dazzling wildflower display on the trails surrounding the lake. Boaters and anglers take over the 2,000-acre reservoir in the heat of summer, but March to May produces a kaleidoscope of blossoms near the 3-mile Shakota Trail, which meanders along the lake’s western shoreline.

Explore Ukiah’s Nearby Attractions

There’s much to see and do in the regions surrounding Ukiah. Forty miles south in Sonoma County, the city of Healdsburg is a premier wine country destination with Michelin-starred restaurants, ultra-luxury resorts, and a downtown plaza filled with alluring shops.

To the west, Mendocino County offers a spectacular coastline and the Highway 128 Wine Road, which passes through the Anderson Valley AVA and the hamlets of Boonville and Philo. East of Ukiah, Lake County hosts an emerging wine scene with more than 40 tasting rooms dotting the towns of Kelseyville, Middletown, Lakeport, and Clearlake Oaks.