Northern California destinations
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TREES: A set of road signs offers a plethora of choices to redwood seekers along the U.S. 101.
"GATEWAY TO THE REDWOODS": Willits is among the towns along the U.S. 101 that offer shops, lodging and meals for tree tourists. Plus you can catch a ride here on the Skunk Train.
By Orange County Register
My personal redwood country runs roughly from Leggett to Scotia on and around Highway 101. But sometimes I drive up from Oakland or even head all the way up to Crescent City. Here are a few of my favorite stops along the way To the south
Oakland: I usually fly into Oakland, where fares are cheaper. Unless you want to go into San Francisco, Oakland is just as easy a route north, with Interstate 880 to Interstate 580 taking you across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to link up with Highway 101 in Marin County. Of course you can take the Bay Bridge through San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a more picturesque route, but the traffic can be a killer.
Sebastopol: Wine country is usually a completely different trip for me, so if I get a late start out of the Bay Area, I usually spend the night in Petaluma or, more frequently, Sebastopol. It's 50 miles north of San Francisco and a bit off Highway 101, but the funky town of 7,800 is worth a short detour (www.ci.sebastopol.ca.us).
Willits: The gateway to the redwoods, I'll often stop here for the night on my drive up. It has plenty of motels and markets to fill up with supplies before heading into the redwoods (www.willits.orgor 707-459-7910). It's also one of the spots where you can pick up the Skunk Train, the former lumber line that runs down the coast to Fort Bragg (www.skunktrain.comor 800-866-1690).
Shelter Cove: A winding side trip takes you down to an isolated resort community that's also famous as the northernmost point where the San Andreas fault touches dry land. The relocated Cape Mendocino lighthouse is here. This is a great "end of the road" town whose planners once envisioned many residents using the tiny airstrip as the main way of getting in and out of town. (www.sheltercove-lostcoast.com).
To the north
Ferndale: I am a big fan of the redwoods in southern Humboldt County. But if you are heading north, this pretty, Victorian-era town with a downtown on the National Register of Historic Places is a great place to stop for the night. (www.victorianferndale.org/chamber). There's an outstanding B&B in the Gingerbread Mansion (www.gingerbread-mansion.comor 707-786-4000), and quirky sights like trees trimmed to look like gumdrops on Ocean Street.
Eureka: The metropolis of the redwoods, it once had nine sawmills. The lumber barons' homes are still around, including some that are B&Bs. Have lunch at Samoa Cookhouse (707-442-1659), one of the last logging camp restaurants still in business. I'll pick up a few things at the original Restoration Hardware on Second Street (417 Second St., www.restorationhardware.comor 707-443-3152), which unfortunately has become much like all the other Restoration Hardwares (oh, to have another shot at that windup Soviet submariners clock that I almost bought circa 1991). Most of all, I spend hours in Eureka Books (426 Second St., www.eurekabooksellers.comor 707-444-9593). On my last visit, I dove into a trove of Baedeker tour books from the early 1900s.
Arcata: I like to stroll around downtown, whose old, neon-lit bars and circa-1915 Hotel Arcata (G and Ninth streets, www.hotelarcata.comor 800-344-1221) make the place look like a character out of central casting for a movie on 1950s small-town life. The only thing spoiling the effect is the legion of panhandlers, who add an uncomfortable if not especially dangerous slice of urban life to the otherwise laid-back atmosphere (www.arcatamainstreet.comor 707-822-4500).
Klamath: I have great affection for Trees of Mystery(www.treesofmystery.netor 800-638-3389), a classic tourist trap I've visited since I was a kid. I can still remember the first time I saw the 49-foot statue of Paul Bunyan with Babe the Blue Ox out front. There's a short trail through some mildly offbeat attractions. In the days of steel bumpers, you would return to your car to find that workers had attached a bumper placard with cables. We didn't mind – it was part of the experience.
Crescent City: Most of Redwood National and State Parks is actually north of Eureka, and for many people, this is the true redwood area – with the largest groupings of redwood stands (sometimes accessible only through steep hikes). Humboldt Lagoons State Park and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park are results of some of the earliest efforts to save the redwoods. Crescent City is an often-foggy former lumber town that in many ways is more connected to nearby Oregon than California (www.northerncalifornia.netor 800-343-8300).
Contact the writer: gettingaway@ocregister.com
Travel: Patagonia is a land in motion
Travel: Castle Hot Springs, Arizona's first luxury resort, has returned to life after closing in 1976
Travel: The Arizona Biltmore bears the hallmarks of Frank Lloyd Wright, who consulted on its design
Travel: Keeping a bucket list? Consider conquering these 4 (almost) easily doable adventures