Things To Do
Whether it's around town or in the surrounding areas, there are plenty of things to do when you are not busy celebrating....here are some of our favorites:
Jen recommends:
Mendocino Headlands - some of the most beautiful views and breathtaking scenery is right outside your front door! I love doing a morning trail run in in the headlands, which are easy to access right off of Main Street in town.
Rob recommends:
North Coast Brewing Company - if you get a chance, head up to Fort Bragg, about 10 minutes north, to get a chance to taste North Coast beers at the Taproom. When you're there, be sure to try the clam chowder. The Taproom is open daily at 2pm.
455 North Main Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/home.php
Things to do in Mendocino:
Mendocino is the only town on the California Coast that is designated as an Historical Landmark. Established in the 1850's, the architecture is reminiscent of Maine with its grand Victorians and quaint Saltbox cottages. Flowers grow lush and many of the Mendocino hotels offer beautiful gardens to enjoy. Mendocino is a photographers paradise, everywhere you look there is another picture postcard waiting to be snapped. From crashing waves and old-fashioned water towers to flower covered picket fences and deserted sandy beaches - just some of the magic that awaits you in Historic Mendocino.
The Kelley House Museum is an historic house museum in the town of Mendocino, just across the street from the MacCallum House Inn . The home was built in 1861 by William Kelley, one of Mendocino’s founding fathers, and now contains 19th Century furniture. The ocean-view home sits on an acre of gardens, with a pond and three resident geese.
The Kelley House hosts guided walking tours of the town of Mendocino on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 11:00am. The cost is $10/person. Alternatively, you can rent a self-guided audio tour at your leisure, Fri-Mon 11:00am-3:00pm.
Open: Fri-Mon, 11am-3pm
Location: 45007 Albion Street, Mendocino, CA 95460
Constructed in 1854, this home today houses a visitor center for Mendocino Headlands State Park. The museum features models of vessels which once plied coastal waters, carrying lumber, passengers and other essentials to those who made their homes on the North Coast. It also features an elaborate model of the town of Mendocino in 1890.
Picture postcard view of Mendocino Village from across the bay! Mendocino Bay Overlook offers a spectacular view of the village of Mendocino from south of Big River. Located off Road 500B/Brewery Gulch Drive immediately south of Mendocino (after the bridge). Exit the Village heading SOUTH, go OVER THE BRIDGE, Turn West at your first right. Proceed South Look for signs on Oceanside of Brewery Gulch Drive.
Where the Pacific ocean meets the Big River to form Mendocino Bay. A picturesque path that runs atop the southern bluffs (if you walk EAST), will take you to the wooden staircase that leads down to this sandy beach. Drive South out of Village and take first left before bridge to drive to sand.
Kayak, Canoe and Outrigger rentals on gorgeous 8 mile long Big River Estuary. Escape the fog and ride the tide through a redwood canyon. Watch for seals, otters and bird life. Stable outriggers are easy to paddle and hold from 1 to 10 people. Children & dogs are welcome. The company also rents well maintained high quality mountain bikes, plus easy and upright Cannondale comfort bikes. Single track through the redwoods available too!
Things to do nearby Mendocino:
Van Damme State Park & Visitor Center
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. 3.7 miles south of Mendocino.
The pygmy forest in Van Damme showcases unique forests of low, stunted trees and shrubs caused by a complex ecological condition associated with underlying wave terraces and their unusual soils. The poor soil fertility and wetness of the soil restricts the growth of vegetation and induces a dwarf condition in many of the plants.
Glass Beach, located 10 miles north of Mendocino near Fort Bragg, is one of the most unique beaches on the Mendocino Coast, if not the world. Not only because nature created it that way, but because time and the pounding surf have corrected one of man's mistakes. There are several awesome coves, littered with sea glass, some more than others. Obviously, the easily accessed coves have less glass remaining, but coves beyond are dazzling with huge amounts of sea glass that have been rounded by the rolling waves.
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.