MENDOCINO COAST

(includes Albion, Caspar, Crescent City, Elk, Fort Bragg, Mendocino, Point Arena & Westport; does not include Healdsburg, Napa, Sonoma, Santa Rosa, St. Helena, Sebastopol, Windsor or Yountville)

BAKERIES, COFFEE, ICE CREAM, JUICES & TEA
●Cowlicks Hand Made Ice Cream – 250 North Main Street (Fort Bragg); 707-962-9271; cowlicksicecream.com.
●Headlands Coffeehouse – 120 Laurel Street (Fort Bragg); 707-964-1987; headlandscoffeehouse.com; local institution with monthly art show.
●Thanksgiving Coffee Café & Espresso Bar – 10485 Lansing Street (Mendocino); 707-937-0836; thanksgivingcoffeecafe.com.



BARS & NIGHTCLUBS
●Beacon Light by Sea – 7401 South Highway 1 (near Elk); 707-877-3311; high on hill in fire station; part dive bar and part oddity museum.
●Caspar Inn – 14957 Caspar Road (Caspar); 707-964-5565; casparinn.com; vintage roadhouse with surprisingly high-end acts, given dive-y atmosphere.
●North Coast Brewing Co.’s Taproom – 444 North Main Street (Fort Bragg); 707-964-3400; northcoastbrewing.com; animal heads on wall and wooden booths in which to sit; try 12 beer “sampler.”
●V’Canto – 124 East Laurel Street (Fort Bragg); 707-964-6844; Italian lounge-restaurant with welcoming bar and well-considered wine list.
●Wine Bar[n] – 8205 North Highway 1 (Mendocino, at Glendeven Inn); 707-937-0083; glendeven.com; local wines by glass every afternoon.



BEACHES
●Navarro Beach – near Elk.
●Portuguese Beach – near Mendocino; walk to “Blowhole”; see “Tiki” sculpture.
●Schooner Gulf State Beach – North Highway 1 (Mendocino); make sure to also see Bowling Ball Beach (among California’s most photographed beaches).
●Stinson Beach – 1 Calle Del Sierra (Stinson Beach, in Golden Gate National Recreation Area); 415-868-1922; nps.gov/goga/stbe.htm or stinsonbeachonline.com; considered 1 of California coast’s most perfect beaches.



HOTELS
●Glendeven Inn – 8205 North Highway 1 (Mendocino); 707-937-0083 or 800-822-4536; glendeven.com; 8-acre farmstead with in-room breakfast and farm-to-table prix fixe dinner 3 nights weekly.
●Green Gulch Farm Zen Center – 1601 Shoreline Highway (Muir Beach); 415-383-3134; sfzc.org/ggf; Buddhist retreat with clean rooms and lovely grounds.
●Greenwood Pier Inn – 5928 California Highway 1 (Elk); 707-877-9997; greenwoodpierinn.com.
●Pelican Inn – 10 Pacific Way (Muir Beach); 415-383-6000; pelicaninn.com; lovely.
●Philo Apple Farm – 18501 Greenwood Road (Mendocino-Anderson); 707-895-2333; philoapplefarm.com; guest cottages that sit in group among apple trees, forming little village (sortof); each has porch to sit on, big bathroom, and queen-sized bed.
●Westport Hotel – 38921 North Highway 1 (Westport); 707-964-3688 or 877-964-3688; westporthotel.us.



RESTAURANTS
●Abalone Pub – 38921 North Highway 1 (Westport, at Westport Hotel); 707-964-3688; westporthotel.us; supposedly excellent food.
●Breakers Cafe – 3465 California Highway 1 (Stinson Beach); 415-868-2002; stinsonbeachcafe.com; burgers.
●Eggheads – 326 North Main Street (Fort Bragg); 707-964-5005; eggheadsrestaurant.com; cramped, Wizard-of-Oz-themed diner; try “Dorothy’s Revenge,” Dungeness crab eggs Benedict.
●Jenny’s Giant Burger – 940 North Main Street (Fort Bragg); 707-964-2235; classic roadside stand with vinyl stools.
●Ledford House – 3000 North Highway 1 (Albion); 707-937-0282; ledfordhouse.com; French country bistro with deck and tall Pacific-facing windows; live jazz nightly.
●Mendo Bistro – 301 North Main Street, 2^nd floor (Fort Bragg); 707-964-4974; mendobistro.com; New American restaurant; in former lumber company store.
●Piaci Pub & Pizzeria – 120 West Redwood Avenue (Fort Bragg); 707-961-1133; piacipizza.com; excellent New York-style pizza.
●Queenie’s Roadhouse Café – 6061 South Highway 1 (Elk); 707-877-3285; queeniesroadhousecafe.com; good brunch spot.
●V’Canto – 124 East Laurel Street (Fort Bragg); 707-964-6844; Italian lounge-restaurant with welcoming bar and well-considered wine list.



SERVICES
●Catch a Canoe & Bicycles Too – 44850 Comptche-Ukiah Road (Fort Bragg); 707-937-0273; catchacanoe.com; rent outrigger (Polynesian-style) and glide up “Big River.”
●Liquid Fusion Kayaking – 32399 Basin Street (Fort Bragg, in Noyo Harbor); 707-962-1623; liquidfusionkayak.com; rentals and 3-hour classes.



SHOPPING
●Bookstore – 206 East Redwood Avenue; 707-964-6559; used books.
●If Shoe Fits – 337 North Franklin Street (Fort Bragg); 707-964-2580; stylish consignment boutique.
●Philo Apple Farm – 18501 Greenwood Road (Mendocino-Anderson); 707-895-2333; philoapplefarm.com; produce.
●Pippi’s Longstockings – 123 East Laurel Street (Fort Bragg); 707-964-8071; pippisocks.com; whimsical sock store.
●Tangents – 368 North Main Street (Fort Bragg); 707-964-3884; emporium of candles, kitsch, and silver jewelry.



SIGHTS & SITES
●Anderson Valley Wine Appellation – take Highway 128 to coast, which will pass through wine valley, along Navarro River banks to Highway 1.
●Cade Winery – 360 Howell Mountain Road South (Angwin); 707-965-2746; cadewinery.com; modern concrete-&-wood structure built mostly of reclaimed and recycled materials.
●Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park – US Route 199 (9 miles east of Crescent City); 707-458-3018; parks.ca.gov/?page_id=413; established in 1929; named after noted fur trapper Jedediah Smith, who visited its location during 1826 expedition; among 3 state parks cooperatively managed as part of Redwood National and State Parks; several hiking trails and day use area adjacent to campground, next to Smith River; Hiouchi Trail, Mill Creek Trail, Simpson Reed Discovery Trail and Stout Grove (which contains “Stout Tree,” largest in stand); Mill Creek flows through park and merges with Smith River.
●Lost Coast Culture Machine – 190 East Elm Street (Fort Bragg); 707-961-1600; lostcoastculturemachine.org; contemporary installations (art paper and pieces made from local invasive species).
●MacKerricher State Park – 24100 MacKerricher Road (Fort Bragg); 707-937-5804; parks.ca.gov; make sure to walk on Lake Cleone’s cattail-lined edges; also, stroll former log-haul road to where pavement disintegrates into sand dunes (Inglenook Fen-Ten Mile Dune Preserve).
●Mendocino Art Center – 45200 Little Lake Street (Mendocino); 707-937-5818; mendocinoartcenter.org; on grounds of former Preston Mansion (East of Eden); 6 galleries and open studios where can watch artists-in-residence.
●Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens – 18220 North Highway 1 (Mendocino); 707-964-4352; gardenbythesea.org; offers everything from colorful displays to thunderous waves; mild maritime climate makes it garden for all seasons; manicured formal gardens, dense coastal pine forest, native flora and habitats, fern-covered canyons, camellias, rhododendrons, magnolias and conifers, heaths and heathers, and flower-filled coastal bluffs overlooking ocean.
●Point Arena Lighthouse – 45500 Lighthouse Road (Point Arena); 707-882-2809; pointarenalighthouse.com; rebuilt in 1907 after Great Earthquake; 1^st steel-reinforced lighthouse in America.
●Pudding Creek Trestle – Fort Bragg; elegant lattice bridge (pedestrian only) that connects Inglenook Fen-Ten Mile Dune Preserve with Fort Bragg.
●Triangle Tattoo & Museum – 356B North Main Street (Fort Bragg); 707-964-8814; triangletattoo.com; exhibitions dedicated to Maori tattoos from 1800s, circus skin ink, and vintage ink machines.