After pulling off Highway 1 and drifting down Lansing Street between beautiful houses and a rocky cliff above the Pacific Ocean, Mendocino, Calif., unfolds.
Lansing Street seems to drive straight into the picturesque seascape of Mendocino Bay, juxtaposed surrealistically behind the village and invoking the instinct to pull out a camera.
The Mendocino area, or just “Mendo” to the locals, relies heavily on tourism centered on the area’s historical roots and coastal beauty.
Mendocino Bay sings a sirens’ song to shutterbugs who want that perfect crashing wave shot or close-ups of tidepool creatures. But photographers are warned to stay aware of their surroundings and watch for sneaker waves.
The history of the area is meticulously documented. The Kelley and Ford Houses offer libraries of journals, photos and other records about Mendocino’s origin. Mendocino, founded in 1852, still retains a number of old houses. Most noteworthy are those dating back to the 1870s and 1880s.
To keep the intimate atmosphere of the village alive, supermarkets, fast food restaurants and motels are completely absent. There is a nice hotel or two in the village, but the nearest Safeway is 11 miles north in Fort Bragg The largest town in Mendocino County with a population of about 6,000, Fort Bragg also has its roots in the 1850s when it was created as a temporary military outpost.
More than 60 silent films, advertisements, educational videos, TV series and movies have been shot in Mendo since 1904. A brief scan of the book outlining these films will reveal titles including “East of Eden,” “Cujo,” “Karate Kid — Part III,” “The Fugitive” and “The Majestic.” The house used in the television series “Murder, She Wrote” also stands in the center of town.
The numerous festivals in the Mendocino area celebrate everything from whale watching to wine tasting. Most notably, the Fourth of July parade — voted best parade in the nation by Newsweek– music festivals, wine festivals and whale watcher gatherings attract the most people. Also popular is the gallery scene within the village. A heavy art culture spawned in the 1970s has developed throughout the decades.
The North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg has been hailed by the Beverage Testing Institute of Chicago as “one of the 10 Best Breweries in the World.” It offers daily tours and samples of their award-winning brews such as the dark Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout and the Belgian-style PranQster Golden Ale. Across the street, the tap room and grill serve tasty lunches and dinners at reasonable prices.
Mendocino County has a lot to offer in available campsites and outdoor activities. The Outdoor Store in Fort Bragg provides everything one would need, and a number of pocket books by Bob Lorentzen detail all the major parks and trails in the area.
“(Lorentzen’s) a local guy, so his maps are accurate,” Outdoor Store employee Brian Miller said.
He added that non-local authors don’t detail their maps as intimately. A resident for almost a year, Miller says his favorite place to hike or bike is the Forest History Trail seven miles east of Mendocino on Little Lake Road.
“It’s pretty rugged,” Miller said of the trail. “The biking is intermediate to advanced. Probably leaning more toward advanced.”
Miller also recommends anywhere you can stop for beach walks, but says MacKerricher Park and Ten Mile Beach, located just a few miles north of Fort Bragg, are definitely the best.
If campers are looking for a real outdoors experience, though, the best place to stop is the Lost Coast, about an hour north of Fort Bragg. It gets its name from its location in the middle of the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, miles from any highway. Hikers pay $3 per person per night when they register to camp and begin an adventure that takes them through about 17 miles of coastal canyons, forests and beaches. It takes around two to three days to reach the end of the trail, but serious campers love it.
Another popular but more expensive activity around Mendo is at Catch A Canoe & Bicycles, Too! As the name suggests, tourists can rent canoes, kayaks, outriggers and all sorts of bicycles. Boaters have the choice of taking a trip into the Mendocino Bay or following Big River inland. Big River winds through a canyon and stays tidal for about eight miles, making it the longest unspoiled estuary in Northern California.
“Since we’re in an estuary, it doesn’t really get crazy,” resident Jim Rae said. “People that don’t go boating all the time can have a really great time.”