California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

and botanical gardens,
perusing the California
Academy of Sciences
(www.calacademy.org; 55
Music Concourse Dr; adult/
child $30/20; h9:30am-5pm
Mon-Sat, 11am-5pm Sun;
c) and the de Young
Museum (www.famsf.org/
deyoung; 50 Hagiwara Tea
Garden Dr; adult/child $10/
free; h9:30am-5:15pm Tue-
Sun) of fine arts. (For our
self-guided walking tour
of Chinatown and North
Beach, see p58). Then
follow Hwy 1 north over
the Golden Gate Bridge.
Guarding the entry to
San Francisco Bay, this
iconic bridge is named
after the straits it spans,
not for its ‘International
Orange’ paint job. Park
in the lot on the bridge’s
south or north side, then
traipse out onto the
pedestrian walkway for
a photo.

54 p47

The Drive » Past Sausalito,
leave Hwy 101 in Marin City
for slow-moving, wonderfully
twisted Hwy 1 along the Marin
County coast (see p49). Over
the next 210 miles to Mendocino
via Bodega Bay, revel in a
remarkably uninterrupted
stretch of coastal highway.
Just over halfway along, watch
for the lighthouse road turnoff
north of Point Arena town.

b Around

Point Arena

The fishing fleets of
Bodega Bay and Jenner’s
harbor-seal colony are
the last things you’ll

see before PCH dives

into California’s great

rural northlands. Hwy

1 twists and turns past

the Sonoma Coast’s

state parks packed

with hiking trails, sand

dunes and beaches,

as well as underwater

marine reserves,

rhododendron groves

and a 19th-century,

Russian fur-trading

fort. At Sea Ranch, don’t

let exclusive-looking

vacation homes prevent

you from following

public-access trailhead

signs and staircases

down to empty beaches

and across ocean bluffs.

Further north, guarding

an unbelievably windy

point since 1908, Point

Arena Lighthouse (www.

pointarenalighthouse.com;

45500 Lighthouse Rd; adult/

child $7.50/1; h10am-3:30pm,

to 4:30pm late May-early Sep;

c) is the only lighthouse

in California where you

can actually climb to

the top. Check in at the

museum, then ascend

the 115ft tower to inspect

the Fresnel lens and

panoramas of the sea and

the jagged San Andreas

Fault below.

4 p47

The Drive » It’s an hour-long,

35-mile drive north along Hwy 1

from the Point Arena Lighthouse

turnoff to Mendocino, crossing

the Navarro, Little and Big

Rivers. Feel free to stop and

stretch at wind-tossed state

beaches, parklands criss-

crossed by hiking trails and tiny

coastal towns along the way.

c Mendocino &

Fort Bragg

Looking more like Cape

Cod than California,

the quaint maritime

town of Mendocino

has white picket fences

surrounding New

England–style cottages

with blooming gardens

and redwood-built water

towers. Its dramatic

headlands jutting

into the Pacific, this

To find the best hidden redwood groves, Grizzly

Creek Redwoods State Park (www.parks.ca.gov; per

car $8; hsunrise-sunset; c) is the place to go. It’s

smaller than other parks, but so out of the way that

it’s pristine. Head to Cheatham Grove for lush sorrel

carpets under the trees, then take a dip in summer

swimming holes along the Van Duzen River. Bonus

factoid: Return of the Jedi scenes were shot here.

North of the Avenue of the Giants, exit Hwy 101 onto

Hwy 36, then drive east for 17 miles.

Richard Stenger, retired park ranger

GRIZZLY CREEK

REDWOODS STATE PARK

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE:

NORTHERN.CALIFORNIA.

1

.PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAYS