yesteryear timber town
and shipping port was
‘discovered’ by artists
and bohemians in the
1950s and has served as
a scenic backdrop in over
50 movies. Once you’ve
browsed the souvenir
shops and art galleries
selling everything from
driftwood carvings to
homemade fruit jams,
escape north to workaday
Fort Bragg, with its
simple fishing harbor
and brewpub, stopping
first for a short hike on
the ecological staircase
and pygmy forest trail at
oceanfront Jug Handle
State Natural Reserve
(www.parks.ca.gov; Hwy 1;
admission free; hsunrise-
sunset; c).54 p47
The Drive » About 25 miles
north of Mendocino, Westport
is the last hamlet along this
rugged stretch of Hwy 1. Rejoin
Hwy 101 northbound at Leggett
for another 90 miles to Eureka,
detouring along the Avenue of
the Giants and, if you have more
time to spare, to the Lost Coast
(for both, see p115).d Eureka
Hwy 101 trundles
alongside Humboldt Bay
National Wildlife Refuge
(www.fws.gov/humboldtbay),
a major stopover for
migratory birds on the
Pacific Flyway. Next
comes the sleepy railroad
town of Eureka. As you
wander downtown,
check the ornate Carson
Mansion (143 M St), built
in the 1880s by a timber
baron and adorned
with dizzying Victorian
turrets, towers, gables
and gingerbread details.
Also a historical park,
Blue Ox Millworks
(www.blueoxmill.com; 1 X St;
self-guided tour adult/child
$7.50/3.50; h9am-5pm Mon-
Fri, to 5pm Sat) still creates
Victorian detailing by
hand using traditional
carpentry and 19th-
century equipment. Back
by Eureka’s harborfront,
climb aboard the blue-
and-white 1910 Madaket
(%707-445-1910; http://www.
humboldtbaymaritimemuseum.
com; foot of C St; adult/child
$18/10; hmid-May–early
Oct, call for hr). Sunset
cocktail cruises serve
from California’s smallest
licensed bar.4 p47
The Drive » Follow Hwy 101
north past the Rastafarian-
hippie college town of Arcata
(for our self-guided walking
tour, see p122) and turnoffs
for Trinidad State Beach and
Patrick’s Point State Park (for
both, see p125). Hwy 101 drops
out of the trees beside marshy
Humboldt Lagoons State Park
(see p128), rolling north towards
Orick, just over 40 miles from
Eureka.e Redwood
National Park
At last, you’ll reach
Redwood National Park
(www.nps.gov/redw, http://www.
parks.ca.gov; state parkday-use per car $8; (^) c). Get
oriented to the tallest
trees on earth at the
coastal Kuchel Visitor
Center (h10am-4pm, to 5pm
Nov-Mar; c), just south of
Orick. Then commune
with the coastal giants
on their own mossy turf
inside Lady Bird Johnson
Grove or the majestic
Tall Trees Grove (free
drive-and-hike permit
required). For more
untouched redwood
forests, wind along the
8-mile Newton B Drury
Scenic Parkway, passing
grassy meadows where
Roosevelt elk roam, then
follow Trip 10 all the way
north to Crescent City,
the last pit-stop before
the Oregon border.
TRIP HIGHLIGHT
NORTHERN.CALIFORNIA
1
(^) PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAYS