California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

5 Scotia

For years, Scotia was

California’s last ‘company

town,’ entirely owned

and operated by the

Pacific Lumber Company,

which built cookie-cut

houses and had an open

contempt for long-haired

outsiders who liked to

get between their saws

and the big trees. The

company went belly up

in 2007, but the town is

still in operation (feels

a bit like a scene from

Twilight Zone). A history

of the town awaits

visitors at the Scotia

Museum & Visitor Center

(www.townofscotia.com; cnr

Main & Bridge Sts; h8am-

4:30pm Mon-Fri Jun-Sep), at

the town’s south end.

But the real highlight of

a stop is the museum’s

fisheries center (admission

free). Remarkably

informative, the fishery

houses the largest

freshwater aquarium on

the North Coast.

The Drive » Follow Hwy 101

for 9 miles north to exit 687 for

Kenmar Rd.

6 Fortuna

The penultimate stop

is a cold, refreshing

pint of beer at Eel River

Brewing Company (www.

eelriverbrewing.com; 1777

Alamar Way; h11am-11pm

Mon-Sun) in Fortuna. This

place is completely in

step with its amazing

natural surroundings – it

was the first certified

organic brewery in the

world and uses 100%

renewable energy (there’s

a bit of irony in the fact

that most of their beer

is brewed in a building

that formerly belonged

to the Pacific Lumber

Company). The breezy

beer garden and excellent

burgers are an ideal pit

stop.

The Drive » Go just 2 miles

north and take exit 691. Follow

Hwy 211 for 5 miles south past

rolling dairy farms to Ferndale.

7 Ferndale

The trip through the Lost

Coast ends at one of the

region’s most charming

towns, stuffed with

impeccable Victorians

• known locally as
  ‘butterfat palaces’
  because of the dairy
  wealth that built them.
  The entire town is a state
  and federal historical
  landmark. Main St offers
  galleries, old-world
  emporiums and soda
  fountains and – of course


• ice- cream parlors.
  The Kinetic Sculpture
  Museum (580 Main St;
  h10am-5pm Mon-Sat, noon-
  4pm Sun; c) ends the trip
  with whimsy; it houses
  fanciful, astounding,
  human-powered
  contraptions used in the
  town’s annual Kinetic
  Grand Championship.
  Shaped like giant fish
  and UFOs, these colorful
  piles of junk propel
  racers over roads, water
  and marsh in the May
  event.

5 p121

TRIP HIGHLIGHT

Hikers who wish to hike the entirety of the Lost

Coast often go from north to south in order to avoid

northerly winds. Many trailheads start at the Mattole

Campground, just south of Petrolia, which is on the

northern border of the Kings Range.

ACCESSING

THE LOST COAST

TOP TIP:

NORTHERN.CALIFORNIA

9

(^) LOST COAST & SOUTHERN REDWOODS