Attractions

Roots of Motive Power-The public is welcome to tour the collection at no charge during work days which are generally held on the first and third Sundays of each month from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM.


California’s Redwood’s Drive-The best place to view redwood trees (and drive-through trees) is by driving the Avenue of the Giants highway, which begins six miles north of Garberville. They also have three drive-thru trees.


Sweet Memories Butterfly FarmsThis is for the true butterfly lover who wants to increase butterflies in their own back yard. Learn more in depth about butterfly attracting plants and host plants as you tour our gardens. Walk through the flight house and enjoy refreshments while learning about raising butterflies.


Manchester State ParkThis unit of the State Park System consists of 760 acres of beach, sand dunes, and flat grasslands, with nearly 18,000 feet of ocean frontage. There are 18 campsites, each with table and fire ring.


Grace Hudson MuseumThe Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, California, is an art, history and anthropology museum focusing on the lifeworks of artist Grace Carpenter Hudson (1865-1937) and her ethnologist husband, Dr. John W. Hudson (1857-1936). Changing interdisciplinary exhibitions and public programs feature Western American art, California Indian cultures, histories of California's diverse North Coast region, and the work of contemporary regional artists.


Held Poage Memorial Home-A veritable treasure trove for historical buffs, the library contains over 4500 books covering local, state and national history, as well as over 13,500 historical photographic negatives, microfilms, documents, maps scrapbooks, Great Registers, genealogies, extensive newspaper collection and artifacts (including Mendocino County native basketry) - all relating to Northern California history.


Greenwood State Beach Museum-This small history center, which was once the office of the Goodyear Lumber Company, tells the story of the village of Elk / Greenwood from its founding in the late 1800s through its history as a booming lumber town. A large mural depicts the loading of lumber from the local wharf onto the ships waiting offshore.


Point Arena Lighthouse and MuseumThis is the only Pacific West coast lighthouse of significant height (115 feet) that you can climb to the top! Guided tours of the light station as well as self guided tours of the grounds are available daily.


Van Damme State Park-The park features the lush Fern Canyon scenic trail system; the Pygmy Forest where mature, cone-bearing cypress and pine trees stand six inches to eight feet tall; and the bog, or Cabbage Patch, where skunk cabbage grows in abundance. The park’s ten miles of trail go along the fern-carpeted canyon of Little River. A paved road is used by joggers and bicyclists. The beach is popular with abalone divers.


Mendocino Art CenterA haven for artists since 1959, today the Art Center is a highly regarded artistic and educational institution offering nearly 300 unique retreat-style workshops each year in ceramics, computer arts, fine arts, jewelry, sculpture and textiles. Four art galleries feature monthly exhibitions spotlighting the creative works of local and national artists


Point Cabrillo Light StationThis lighthouse has an original Third Order Fresnel lens that operates 24 hours a day. This is one of the most unique lighthouses in the United States and is well worth a visit.


Fetzer Vineyards Tasting Room-Features a large tasting room, gift shop, cooking classes and even an inn on the property. However, don’t overlook the organic gardens, which helped to influence a generation of sustainable winemakers.


Mendocino Brewing Company-The company runs a brewpub which includes Red Tail Ale, Blue Heron Pale Ale, and Black Hawk Stout, several other regular offerings, and short-run seasonal offerings. Their products are all named for birds of prey, excepting Blue Heron, and feature images of the birds on their labels.


North Coast Brewing Company-Opened in 1988 under the leadership of brewmaster, Mark Ruedrich, the brewery has developed a strong reputation for quality having won more than 70 awards in national and international competitions and has been named "One of the 10 Best Breweries in the World" by the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago.


Russian Gulch State Park-A headland that features the Devil’s Punch Bowl (a large, collapsed sea cave with churning water), and a beach that offers swimming, tide pool exploring, skin diving and rock fishing. Inland, there is a 36-foot high waterfall. Hikers enjoy miles of hiking trails. The park also has a paved three-mile bicycle trail.


California Western Railroad’s “Skunk Train”-The view from the restored rail cars is pretty much unchanged: towering trees, deer drinking from the Noyo River, an isolated fisherman's cabin peeking from the forest. With occasional whistles as it chugs through tunnels, over bridges and past open meadows, the train follows the coastal "Redwood Route" as it has since 1885.


Triangle Tattoo and Museum-A working tattoo studio with a fascinating museum that is concerned with the history of tattooing from all over the world.



William Henry Kelly House Museum-Named after the co-founder of Mendocino, this museum carries more than 16,000 historic photographs of Mendocino, geneology files, and exhibits change quarterly.


Glass Beach-One of the most unique beaches in the world, not because nature created it that way, but because time and the pounding surf have corrected one of man's mistakes. In addition to searching for and collecting glass, Glass Beach has a very interesting array of tide pools to explore. Crabs, mollusks, and many aquatic plants make their homes in these ever changing environments.


Guest House Museum-Artifacts, equipment and photographs depicting local history are on display. Outside displays include steam donkeys and railroad locomotives.


Jug Handle State Reserve-Consists of a strip of land roughly one mile wide enclosing a set of five terraces resembling a staircase in addition to some discontinuous parcels to the north. Here they offer a display of the complete record of ecological succession.


Chinese Temple of Kwan Tai-Dedicated to the Chinese god of war - a Taoist symbol of integrity and loyalty, the Temple of Kwan Tai offers living evidence of Mendocino's 19th Century Chinese community.Four generations of its founders' descendents have preserved this original Taoist temple, a site now recognized as California Registered Historic Landmark No. 927.


Ford House Museum-A number of videos are available upon request, with topics ranging from the steam whistle logging era of the early Twentieth Century to the amazing story of gray whale migration. Permanent exhibits at the Ford House reflect Mendocino's early settlement era.


Big River State Park & Beach-The Big River State Park is bounded by Mendocino Headlands State Park on the west, the Jackson Demonstration State Forest and Mendocino Woodlands State Park on the north. The estuary is the longest undeveloped estuary in Northern California going up to 8.3 miles inland. The estuary includes salt marsh wetlands and rocky, forested hillsides, interspersed with alder and willow woodlands.


Blair House- Named after Elisha Blair who built the house in 1888, this house is where the hit TV Series "Murder She Wrote" was filmed. Now this place is a B&B.


Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens-Located on 47 acres that lie between California's scenic Highway One and the Pacific Ocean, this magnificent site includes canyons, wetlands, coastal bluffs, and a closed-cone pine forest. Set among this striking background is a varied array of plant collections.


Bowling Ball Beach- It takes its name from spherical, bowling ball-sized boulders that cover a portion of a beach connected to Schooner Gulch Beach that extends about a mile. Schooner Creek runs into the ocean here, creating some very pretty small rivulets through the sand.


Ten Mile Beach-This trail is an old logging road, now closed to motorized vehicles due to several washed-out sections. The path leads past MacKerricher Dunes, one of the coast’s longest dune systems, and Inglenook Fen, a coastal wetland. The fen shelters rare plants, such as marsh pennywort and the rein orchid, and is home to several endemic insect species.


ACTIVITIES TO DO
Abalone Diving- kelp forests
Horseback riding
Hiking
Camping
Kayaking to seacaves
Cycling to Cliffside
Canoeing over a river
Golfing/Miniature Golf
Fishing
Whale watching
Tennis
Ross Ranch
Jogging Trails
Casinos
Coast Flyers
Sweetwater Spa
Hunting
Swimming/Surfing

EVENTS
The Mendocino Whale Festival
The World’s Largest Salmon BBQ
The Great Rubber Ducky Race
The Music Fesitval
Art Exhibits
Crafts Fair
Boonville Beer Festival

Romantic Getaways/Honeymoons
Weddings