North Coast
Romance finds a home in this idyllic coastal region, where ocean fog rolls in from the ocean to blanket hushed redwood forests, and whales spout offshore. Along the coast, artists set up their easels to paint scenes of crashing surf and whitewashed cottages wrapped in rose-filled gardens. Each year, December through May, look to the sea to witness roughly 15,000 gray whales swimming south for the summer.
It’s also a place where a new generation of farmers and winemakers focus on preserving the land as well as producing amazing food and wine. Favorite escapes include the romantic hamlet of Mendocino, roughly a 3-hour drive up the coast from San Francisco, and Eureka, a former logging town 2 hours further north, and the gateway to breathtaking Redwoods National and State Parks.
Redwood National Park
Hugging California's northwestern edge, a spectacular network of parks protecting nearly half of the world’s coast redwoods, the world’s tallest living things, which grow over 350 feet/107 meters high. But there’s more than giant trees in this lush land. Here, majestic (and big) Roosevelt elk graze in grassy prairies. Wild beaches are dotted with weathered driftwood, not a footprint in sight, and rivers tumble into the sea. Three state parks—Jedediah Smith, Del Norte (pronounced “del nort”) Coast, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park—work in consort with Redwood National Park to protect the region, and all offer a remarkable number of ways to explore, learn, and discover. Remember that all that green is here for a reason: annual rainfall, which normally falls from October through April, averages 60 to 80 inches/152 to 203 centimeters, so bring raingear and sturdy, nonslip shoes.
Mendocino
With its dramatic ocean-bluff setting overlooking a steel-blue sea, this coastal hamlet is an obvious magnet for artists, romantics, and lovers of anything wild and untamed. The closest thing to a New England village in California, Mendocino lets you stroll past tidy saltbox cottages wrapped in roses and picket fences, wind chimes tinkling in the breeze. This tucked-away village wasn’t always so charmingly peaceful: during the height of the logging boom in the mid- to late-1800s, Mendocino bustled with people and commerce, a thriving port filled with lively hotels and saloons. Now, luxurious B&Bs welcome you to curl up by the fire; restaurants serve just-caught seafood and local organic wines, and galleries beckon with artwork and quality handcrafts. Festivals abound, often celebrating the region’s bounty, be it sweet Dungeness crab, craft beers, or wild mushrooms in winter.
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