Mar 12, 2015

Guide to Mendocino County

Guide to Mendocino CountyOur trip to Mendocino County was not long when compared to some of our other trips, but I’m proud of how many places from our list of things we wanted to try we actually checked off. I’ve made this Guide to Mendocino county to note some of the ones that really made us smile.

Little River Inn Restaurant Little River Inn Restaurant

Eat

Little River Inn
This place is so delicious it’s Zagat rated. Award winning crab cakes and perfect Swedish pancakes.
7901 North Highway 1, Little River, California 95456 (www)

Bernillo’s Pizza and Subs
After being ignored at Piaci, we headed here. Owner was super friendly, pizza was great.
220 East Redwood Avenue, Fort Bragg, California 95437 (www)

Cowlick’s Ice Cream Cafe
Try the candy cap mushroom flavor, it’s delicious! My friend Cassie says it tastes like maple syrup!
250 North Main Street, Fort Bragg, California 95437 (www)

Fort Bragg California Glass Beach Coastal Hike

See

Glass Beach
If you park farther, this makes for a beautiful hike. Go to the less popular beaches to see more glass.
Glass Beach Fort Bragg, California 95437 (www)

Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
The 2.5 mile Ecological Staircase trail provides beach to redwoods hiking.
15501 North Highway 1, Caspar, California 95420 (www)

MacKerricher State Park
Wish we had made it here. Sand dunes, tide pools, and plenty of beach.
24100 MacKerricher Park Road, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 (www)

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in Mendocino, California

Do

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
Absolutely beautiful botanical gardens in any season, plan for a few hours to see it all.
18220 North Highway One, Fort Bragg, California 95437 (www)

Farmhouse Mercantile
Downtown Boonville is a perfect break on the way into Mendocino area. Shop features local items.
14111 Highway 128, Boonville, California 95415 (www)

Point Cabrillo Light Station
Head over before sunset for a light hike and beautiful sundown. Lighthouse first illuminated in 1909.
45300 Lighthouse Road, Mendocino, California 95460 (www)

Aerial View of Point Cabrillo Light Station - Guide to Mendocino County

We really enjoyed our hosts, so we might be partial, but Little River Inn is our favorite place to stay overnight, romantic and away from town.


Do you have any favorite places to add in Mendocino County?

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[…] gift from us and I was so excited to share with them a place I fell deep in love with during our last visit. All I could think about was how fun it would be for them to explore the wonders of the Northern […]

[…] Stay: Inn at Newport Ranch might be a little north of Fort Bragg, but it’s a California modern beauty on my travel wishlist. It’s surely to be an experience in itself. Eat: Try The Restaurant (yes, it’s called that) then for dessert, head over to Cowlicks Ice Cream. Stop: If you start at the very start of Highway 1, there is a drive-thru tree park in Leggette, California. MacKerricher State park is beautiful, and on the way through Fort Bragg, be sure to stop at the glass beach and Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. Van Damme State Park is probably easiest place to see more redwoods. The lighthouses at both Point Cabrillo and Point Arena are beautiful too, as is the sleepy town of Gualala. For more Mendocino County gems, see my city guide. […]

[…] at the cabin. It was just north of MacKerricher State Park and Ten Mile River, a part of Mendocino County. I don’t usually ask a lot of questions about his trips, but I imagine that they spent most […]

[…] this year we headed to Mendocino area for a little romantic getaway. We enjoyed our time there and decided to take the scenic route […]

Glad you shared Cowlick’s! It’s such an great little local find! And gorgeous photos as usual, including that dronie of yours 🙂 My husband may be in the market for a photo drone sometime soon, so we’ll have to talk!

Such a great guide!

Mendocino is so beautiful! We were there last year, but only stayed for a day, and so I’m quite excited for when we do go back.. now we have tons of great recommendations for things to see and do. 🙂 Thanks, Jessica!

It’s good to know if you go farther down there is more sea glass for Glass Beach. We parked near the start and I don’t know if it was because it was high tide or if there just wasn’t any but we didn’t get to see any when we went last year! If you ever go back I highly recommend giving Glass Beach B&B a try for your stay. They were the sweetest hosts and the breakfast was delicious!

Thanks for the recommendation, we’ll keep it in mind for future trips. 🙂

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