• ALBION
  • Albion is tucked alongside the Albion River; the bridge here, built in 1944, is the last wooden bridge remaining on Highway 1. The harbor at Albion is one of the locations thought very likely to be the 16th-century explorer Francis Drake's 1579 fort site when he navigated the Pacific coast. While arguments continue, visitors come to Albion for respite at its restaurants and charming inns. Along the river there is a small harbor, campground and kayak/canoe rental outfit. Provisions are found at the one-of-a-kind Albion Store.
• ANCHOR BAY
  • The seclusion of this wooded cove was enormously attractive to rum runners during Prohibition. Today, visitors seek it out for its privacy, and its pristine beach which the Conde Nast Traveler rated as one of the 10 best in the northwest. Basic services are available as well as a small shopping village, restaurants, lodging, and 52-site campground.
• CASPAR
  • Quiet, little Caspar (pop. 20) was, incredibly, once one of the most prosperous mill towns on the Mendocino Coast, shipping lumber from 1862 until 1955. Today, most of the old mill houses are gone, but it is still home to a popular roadhouse, a fine printing house and the Mendocino Coast Jewish Community. Caspar Headlands State Beach and the Point Cabrillo Lighhouse lie nearby. An annual "gorse festival" began in 1998.
• COMPTCHE
  • Much to the horror of its residents, the San Francisco TV program Bay Area Backroads discovered this lovely rural community and introduced viewers to the "Comptche Shuffle" - the personification of the hamlet's leisurely pace. Named after a Pomo Indian chief, Comptche has only a store to offer visitors, other than its beautiful surround. Midway between Comptche and Ukiah is Montgomery Redwoods State Reserve which has the finest stand of virgin redwood forest in the county and, nearby, Orr Springs.
• ELK
  • The bluff-top town once known as Greenwood is deceptively sleepy looking. But, as travel writer Bob Lorentzen tells us, Elk "has to be one of the liveliest, most pleasant little towns hiding along the Mendocino Coast." The dedicated citizens of Elk pull together for all community needs and produce several standout annual events including the St. Patrick's Day celebration (over 100 years old) and the Great Day In Elk. Five distinguished bed & breakfast inns, a couple of restaurants, an Irish pub and several country stores lure visitors as well as residents. Greenwood Creek State Beach is one of the coast's loveliest.
• FORT BRAGG
  • Known as "the capital of the Mendocino Coast," Fort Bragg is the shoreline's last remaining lumber town. It also boasts a host of diversions for the visitor including history, art, antiques, shopping, dining and lodging. The historic downtown business district recalls the town's 1885 beginnings. Nearby are several state parks and the Noyo Harbor. A few of Fort Bragg's most well known attractions are California Western Railroad's "Skunk Train", which follows an old logging line into Jackson State Forest; Glass Beach, once the city dump; the Fine Woodworking School, attended by students from all over the world; and the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, a 47-acre public garden with a path leading to the ocean.
• GUALALA
  • Gualala is situated right at the county's south county line, in what many locals boast is the coast's "banana belt." Born a lumber town like most of its neighbors, Gualala today is a happy mix of new and old, with art galleries, restaurants, boutiques, and accommodations ranging from refurbished 19th-century properties to more contemporary oceanfront options. The Gualala Arts Center acts as a clearinghouse for a raft of artistic and musical endeavors including the annual Art in the Redwoods. Pronounced Wa la'la, the town's name means "where the waters meet" in Hispanic/Pomo Indian patois.
• IRISH BEACH
  • This strictly residential community is a second-home development where home owners may access a five-mile stretch of sandy beach where driftwood and tide pools are found.
• LITTLE RIVER
  • Little River (pop. 412) boasts two of Mendocino County's largest and most elegant inns as well as a string of smaller inns and B&B's. The four-mile stretch has some of the coast's most commanding ocean views. Little River itself is composed solely of a post office, store/gas pump and restaurant. Nearby is the luxuriant Van Damme State Park with a beach, beautiful trails and the Pygmy Forest, and a county airport for private planes.
• MANCHESTER
  • This tiny community lies in the heart of Mendocino's lush dairy country. Visitors may find minimal services, but they will pause to admire the lush countryside, a large topiary display, a huge Monterey cypress. Here too, Manchester State Beach, and the marshes where the exotic whistling swans come every winter.
• MENDOCINO
  • Variously described as a New England village on the Pacific, Maine West, and Cabot Cove (this is a nod to its location site for the TV series, Murder, She Wrote, Mendocino draws visitors to its spectacular setting on the headlands. Those headlands and the entire town are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The New England-style architecture lends great charm to the shops and galleries that flourish here. Many B&Bs, a hotel and other accommodations are popular year round as well as are gourmet restaurants. Two museums, a world class art center, a resident theater company, and the annual Mendocino Music Festival add to the town's cultural fabric.
• POINT ARENA
  • Many a ship met its doom before the Point Arena Lighthouse became a welcome fixture at the point in 1870. Rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake, the lighthouse is open daily to the public. The City of Point Arena hugs Highway 1 as it makes a dramatic dip toward the Pacific. Stores, restaurants, lodgings and services are all available in a genuine small town atmosphere. The 19th-century wharf, rebuilt in 1983, anchors Arena Cove's restaurants and lodgings and accommodates public and commercial fishing.
• WESTPORT
  • Another of the coast's charming old lumber towns, Westport's population is reported to be "about 150, counting dogs and cats." In the hush of today, it is hard to imagine the clamor of Westport at the turn of the century with round-the-clock timber hauling and loading on its (then) 375-foot long wharf. As the visitor admires the long sweep of unspoiled coastline, it is harder still to picture the parade of ships that regularly steamed into this "doghole" port. Lodging, dining and a couple of stores make up Main Street; two inns lie north of town. The Annual Rubber Ducky Race on Mother's Day benefits the local fire department.

THE INLAND AREAS - Along Highway #101 Corridor

• BELL SPRINGS
  • Under construction... details to come.
• BRANSCOMB
  • The tiny community of Branscomb lies midway between Westport and Laytonville on what used to be a turn-of-the-century stage route. The scenic road twists and winds past the Northern California Coast Range Preserve and the Admiral William Standley State Park.
• CALPELLA
  • Under construction... details to come.
• COVELO
  • Covelo is the heart of the secluded Round Valley, bounded by the Mendocino National Forest and gateway to the Yolla Bolly Wilderness. Covelo provides a wide range of retail businesses and services as well as the home base for a noteworty colony of artists and craftspersons. Covelo's annual Blackberry Festival, Rodeo, and California Indian Days draw throngs of visitors to the valley every late August/September.
• CUMMINGS
  • Under construction... details to come.
• DOS RIOS
  • Under construction... details to come.
• HOPLAND
  • Named for the hops that were grown here for the production of beer from the 1860's to the 1940's, Hopland is enjoying a tremendous rebirth, not only as home to the Mendocino Brewing Company (the first brewpub in the state since Prohibition) but also as a bountiful wine producing area. Fetzer's Valley Oaks Wine & Food Center, McDowell Cellars' solar-powered facility, and Brutocao Cellars new tasting room are three of the prestigious wineries headquartered in Hopland. Real Goods Solar Living Center is a popular attraction along with the town's restaurants, stores, crafts, museum and hotel. The Hopland Band of Pomo Indians is located at the Hopland Rancheria.
• LAYTONVILLE
  • Nestled in the county's Long Valley, Laytonville is surrounded by redwood forests, rolling hills, meadows and grazing land where elk and other wild life are found. Up-to-date stores and visitor services do business in a town that looks very much like the Old West.
• LEGGETT
  • Located at the junction of Highways 1 & 101, Leggett is the access point leading north to the redwoods, west to the coast and south to the wine country. A small rural village guards the entrance to Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree Park.
• LONGVALE
  • Under construction... details to come.
• PIERCY
  • Piercy is the norhernmost town in Mendocino County, deep among beautiful and dense redwood forests.
• POTTER VALLEY
  • Lightly populated and rather isolated from Mendocino's other winegrowing valleys, Potter Valley produces excellent Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling wines.
• TALMAGE
  • The secluded community of Talmage is the ideal home of the City of 10,000 Buddhas and the Dharma Realm Buddist University.
• UKIAH
  • In the mid-1990's, a national magazine rated Ukiah one of the 10 best and most livable cities in the country. The city of almost 16,000 serves as the county seat of government as well as the headquarters for much of Mendocino's industry and agriculture. An attractive downtown, convention center, retail malls and surrounding wine country make Ukiah a popular destination. A variety of lodgings and restaurants add to the mix. A county airport provides facilities for private aircraft and commuter service to SFO. Recreational attractions include Lake Mendocino (five miles northeast of town) and a number of city and county parks.
• WILLITS
  • "Gateway to the Redwoods" proclaims the famous arch (which originally spanned the entrance to Reno, Nevada) at the southern end of Willits, a city that combines the look of a Western town with state-of-the-art technology. Light industry, a downtown business district, extensive visitor services, great sushi and a first-rate museum with a notable Pomo Indian basket collection contribute to Willits' vitality. It is also the eastern terminus of California Western Railrod's Skunk Trains that run between here and Fort Bragg on the coast. With a nod to its rich heritage, Willits celebrates Frontier Days every 4th of July. Another celebration is the annual Solar Energy Fair.

ANDERSON VALLEY WINE COUNTRY - Along Highway #128

• ANDERSON VALLEY - Boonville - Philo - Navarro - Yorkville
  • Vineyards, orchards, oaks and redwoods contribute to the bucolic charm of the Anderson Valley which is comprised of the small communities of Boonville, Philo, Navarro and Yorkville. Highway 128 cuts through the valley allowing travelers to visit a string of premier wineries, a microbrewery, the magnificent Hendy Woods State Park, and charming country inns. There are - in Boonville - a few shops and restaurants as well and, here, too, is the Mendocino County Fairgrounds where the annual County Fair & Apple Show, sheep dog trials, wildflower show and the Wild Iris Folk Festival draw crowds.

For other areas of THE REDWOOD EMPIRE, click below:
6.The wild and scenic Rogue River, the Oregon Caves... one of Oregon's "best kept secrets" - Josephine County

5.Redwoods, Rivers, Seaports and Coastline of California's Humboldt and Del Norte Counties

4.The dramatic & beautiful Coast, the dynamic inland areas & Wine country of Mendocino County

3.The Lakes and Playgrounds of Clearlake & Lake County

2.The dramatic coastline, the legendary Wine country and progressive cities of Sonoma and Napa Counties

1.Baghdad by the Bay... the beautiful and compelling City of San Francisco and, across the Golden Gate, the magnetic towns and villages and the coastal playgrounds of Marin County

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