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ABOUT MENDOCINO CALIFORNIA (mendocino, ca): Mendocino sits atop
beautiful ocean bluffs surrounded on three sides by Mendocino Bay and
the Pacific Ocean. The bluffs comprise the Mendocino Headlands and offer
walking trails that afford incredible views of the ocean and the lovingly
restored 1850's New England style Victorians which now house restaurants,
specialty shops, galleries and provide lodging for Mendocino artists.
Historic buildings line the cliffs. At times the Pacific roars and crashes
against the headlands with such force spindrift floats up to Main Street.
The air tastes salty. In a complex surrounding what was once a Victorian
carriage house is the Mendocino Art Center, described by the National
Endowment for the Arts as a "rural miracle." The Mendocino Art
Center serves area artists as well as artists and aspiring artists throughout
the United States. All this is the nature of Mendocino, located about
150 miles north of San Francisco on Highway 1. Besides the natural beauty,
visitors to Mendocino will find a variety of things to see and do. The
history of Mendocino and its founding families can be explored at the
Ford House and the Kelley House museums. The Mendocino Community presents
a variety of events from monthly art openings that celebrate art on the
Second Saturday of every month to the annual Mendocino Music Festival
providing performances in a huge tent on the Headlands in July. Other
annual events include a Whale Festival, the Mendocino Art Center's Garden
Tour featuring exquisitely created home gardens with a luncheon at the
Stanford Inn's Raven's Restaurant, an old-time 4th of July parade, the
renown Art in the Gardens presented by the Mendocino Botanical Gardens,
Winesong celebrating fine wines and local culinary talents in a tasting
followed by an auction and celebrations of the Christmas holidays with
lights and singing at the inns and lodges of Mendocino, Little River and
Elk, and much more.
Hikers
and mountain bikers enjoy bluff-top excursions to view seabirds, the
seasonal gray whale migration and spring wildflowers. Nearby Big River
Beach is ideal for family picnics and Big River is an ecological treasure
which is easily explored by canoe or kayak which can be rented at Catch
A Canoe & Bicycles, too! Montgomery Woods up Comptche Ukiah Road
offers virgin redwood groves with the tallest living tree in the world.
Redwoods and Douglas Firs dominate the Russian Gulch State Park as well
as other nearby State Parks including Van Damme and Hendy Woods. Many
of these parks allow dogs on their trails. And at MacKerricher State
Park Lari Shea offer horseback riding along the beach.
There
are no supermarkets, fast food chains or motels in Mendocino. Small
markets, intimate restaurants, a hotel and bed and breakfast inns fill
the needs of the vacationer. The town is compact and shopping and dining
destinations are within easy walking distance of one another. Mendocino
is an art collectors dream. Coast artists show their works at the Mendocino
Art Center and in the scores of privately owned galleries. Performing
arts include productions by the Mendocino Theatre Company, Hit and Run
Theater as well as intimate concerts provided at the Mendocino Art Center
and the Caspar Inn. Mendocino is the perfect destinations for gay and
lesbian travelers as Mendocino is gay-friendly. Stanford Inn provides
gay-friendly lodging, massage and vegetarian dining. Mendocino is truly
a special destination - it is the "wine country coast" with
Anderson Valley wineries within only twenty minutes drive and Sonoma's
fine wineries just an hour south.
Tour Mendocino Wines provides wonderful oppotunities to explore virtually undiscovered tasting rooms of Mendocino County. The concierge at the Stanford Inn will be happy to make an appointment with Travis Scott who will provide a personalized tour of the United States up-and-coming wine regions of Mendocino County.
Parks,
reserves and related places
Islands off the Mendocino coast
Admiral William Standley State Recreation Area
Caspar Headlands State Recreation Area
Hendy Woods State Park
Jughandle State Reserve
MacKerricher State Park
Mailliard Redwoods State Reserve
Manchester State Park
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
Mendocino Headlands State Park
Mendocino National Forest
Mendocino Woodlands State Park
Montgomery Woods State Reserve
Navarro River Redwoods State Park
Point Cabrillo Light Station
Reynolds Wayside Campground
Round Valley Indian Reservation
Russian Gulch State Park
Sinkyone Wilderness State Park
Smythe Redwoods State Reserve
Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area
Van Damme State Park
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