Mendocino annual music festival markets itself as “Music on the Edge of the World.” It’s not only music, but also pretty much everything else here that is on the edge. Art gallery-rich Main Street is paralleled by an open shoreline of the Headlands State Park, where seagulls are feeding on restaurant leftovers, and arguing sea lions are only interrupted by passing cormorants and pelicans. Blooming succulents on the dunes and wind-twisted wild cypresses are a part of the town as much as artisan bakeries and designer coffee houses. Next to those lucky people who can live their lives here, sipping heritage Zinfandels and Alsatian varietals grown in surrounding vineyards, untamed wildlife, interconnected flora and fauna are omnipresent – so Californian, and so unmistakably Northern. It becomes immediately obvious here that the most populated state in the nation still grants a weary traveler enough solitary places to move closer to Mother Nature, and slowly dissolve in her welcoming embrace.
Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park is one of those places where solitude comes in the shape of coastal deer grazing in the dusk on a side of the one-lane road leading to the lighthouse. In the morning, gentle fog envelopes the cypresses around the lightkeeper’s house, and a motley crew of early birds flocks to the feeder, installed by Jim Kimbrell – Innkeeper of the
Lighthouse Inn, a senior historian and restoration manager at Point Cabrillo. In midday, the vast deserted coast is sunlit, yet windy, wrapped in fluttering sea foam lace. Then at night, a razor of light from the original Fresnel lens, one of only twelve in the U.S., slices the shore in a circular motion, then again, then again, sliding through the pitch darkness. This enchanted place celebrates 100th anniversary of the light station this year. Open to the public, the light station offers guided tours of the Assistant Lightkeeper’s Museum and the Lighthouse, with two special exhibitions: one of the 1850 clipper brig “Frolic” shipwreck artifacts, another of the rich local history of Pomo people. There are also special lens tours, two of which are coming up on August 8 (National Lighthouse Day) and on September 26 (Juan Cabrillo Day). The Lighthouse Inn, which has to TV, no computer, and no telephone, stays open all year round, pampering its guests with a quiet retreat at the painstakingly restored turn-of-the-century Head Lightkeeper’s House; period furnishings; five-course gourmet breakfast, and afternoon wine and cheese reception in an elegantly-cozy dining room overlooking the ocean. Where the lightkeepers’ wives were once tending to their brood and complaining about their too small kitchens, their never ending laundry, and that relentless fog horn, visitors from near and far are now enjoying a truly privileged stay at the Inn, in the midst of a 300-acre Nature Reserve, immersed in timeless beauty of the rugged Mendocino Coast. Located two miles north of Mendocino, on Point Cabrillo Drive. For more information or to make reservations, call 707-937-6122, or visit www.pointcabrillo.org
Little River Inn is another Mendocino Coast classic, built in 1857, and later on very much appreciated by the Hollywood celebrities of the Glamour Epoch. First discovered by Myrna Loy who was vacationing here in 1939, the Inn soon became a residence of choice for the stars, when films like “Frenchman’s Creek,” with Joan Fontaine and “Johnny Belinda” with Jane Wyman were being shot here. Ronald Reagan, Wyman’s husband, was staying at the Inn along with the cast. Later on, James Dean, Julie Harris and the rest of the “East of Eden” cast were staying here as well. Today, the property is still a charming white-walled Victorian, surrounded by wild cypresses, bougainvilleas and calla lilies with unobstructed ocean views, however, added modern conveniences include Jacuzzi, golf and tennis courses, a gift shop, Ole’s Whale Watch Bar, named after the original inn owner, and a fine dining restaurant with nightly specials. Located at 7901 N. Highway One, Little River, California.Call 707-937-5942 for reservations and information, or visit www.littleriverinn.com.
The tiny village of Little River is used to catering to big tastes, and
Stevenswood Restaurant is definitely a place to be for those who seek inspired and imaginative cuisine based on fresh local ingredients. Located at the AAA four-diamond spa resort nestled by the vast and wild Van Damme State Park, the restaurant has a spacious yet cozy dining room with a dramatic fireplace, large tables, comfortable armchairs, tasteful interior design and artwork on the walls. A floor-to-ceiling glass door opens into a lush garden, preceded by an Australian tea tree with myriads of velvety burgundy colored flowers on its branches. This serene and secluded ambiance, plus the friendliest welcoming service set the right mood for the “farm to table cuisine.” The menu changes often, but seasonal freshness, excellent preparation and presentation, and good size portions – not too small, but not overwhelming are guaranteed at any time. Look for Stevenswood Restaurant at 8211 North Highway One, Mendocino. Call 707-937-2810 or visit www.Stevenswood.com. For table reservations, call 800-421-2810.
To better explore the surrounding wilderness, take a 40-mile scenic ride on the
Skunk Train from Fort Bragg to Willits and back, through the dense redwood forest, framed with stinging nettles and forget-me-nots. You’ll learn that the train got its name from the 1920s gas powered engine the smell of which preceded the arrival of the first car in plain view. The train runs through the 30 bridges over Noyo River and an antique tunnel, built by the Chinese laborers who came here from the Sierra in 1887-1893. An apple farm, built in 1904 at a cost of one dollar per acre of land at the time, will appear along the tracks, still planted with the ancient apple trees. For more information and reservations, call 866-457-5865 or visit www.SkunkTrain.com
Among the places not to be missed on your visit to Mendocino, named Historical Preservation District by the state of California, there are Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg, www.gardenbythesea.org; Jug Handle Nature Preserve, located half-way between Mendocino and Fort Bragg, www.parks.ca.gov; the house museums www.mendocinohistory.org; the ongoing Mendocino Arts Showcase, www.MendocinoArts.com; Ricochet Ridge Ranch (horseback riding) www.horse-vacation.com; Liquid Fusion Kayaking www.liquidfusionkayak.com; the many wonderful art galleries, www.mendocinocoast.com, www.northcoastartists.org, www.artsmendocino.org, www.mendocinostories.com, www.mendocinojewelry.com; and, of course, the outstanding wineries, like Zina Hyde Cunningham in Boonville, www.zinawinery.com; Goldeneye in Philo, www.goldeneyewinery.com, and Meyer Family Cellars in Yorkville, www.mfcellars.com. Photography by Yuri Krasov.
Mendocino annual music festival markets itself as “Music on the Edge of the World.” It’s not only music, but also pretty much everything else here that is on the edge. Art gallery-rich Main Street is paralleled by an open shoreline of the Headlands State Park, where seagulls are feeding on restaurant leftovers, and arguing sea lions are only interrupted by passing cormorants and pelicans. Blooming succulents on the dunes and wind-twisted wild cypresses are a part of the town as much as artisan bakeries and designer coffee houses. Next to those lucky people who can live their lives here, sipping heritage Zinfandels and Alsatian varietals grown in surrounding vineyards, untamed wildlife, interconnected flora and fauna are omnipresent – so Californian, and so unmistakably Northern. It becomes immediately obvious here that the most populated state in the nation still grants a weary traveler enough solitary places to move closer to Mother Nature, and slowly dissolve in her welcoming embrace. Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park is one of those places where solitude comes in the shape of coastal deer grazing in the dusk on a side of the one-lane road leading to the lighthouse. In the morning, gentle fog envelopes the cypresses around the lightkeeper’s house, and a motley crew of early birds flocks to the feeder, installed by Jim Kimbrell – Innkeeper of the Lighthouse Inn, a senior historian and restoration manager at Point Cabrillo. In midday, the vast deserted coast is sunlit, yet windy, wrapped in fluttering sea foam lace. Then at night, a razor of light from the original Fresnel lens, one of only twelve in the U.S., slices the shore in a circular motion, then again, then again, sliding through the pitch darkness. This enchanted place celebrates 100th anniversary of the light station this year. Open to the public, the light station offers guided tours of the Assistant Lightkeeper’s Museum and the Lighthouse, with two special exhibitions: one of the 1850 clipper brig “Frolic” shipwreck artifacts, another of the rich local history of Pomo people. There are also special lens tours, two of which are coming up on August 8 (National Lighthouse Day) and on September 26 (Juan Cabrillo Day). The Lighthouse Inn, which has to TV, no computer, and no telephone, stays open all year round, pampering its guests with a quiet retreat at the painstakingly restored turn-of-the-century Head Lightkeeper’s House; period furnishings; five-course gourmet breakfast, and afternoon wine and cheese reception in an elegantly-cozy dining room overlooking the ocean. Where the lightkeepers’ wives were once tending to their brood and complaining about their too small kitchens, their never ending laundry, and that relentless fog horn, visitors from near and far are now enjoying a truly privileged stay at the Inn, in the midst of a 300-acre Nature Reserve, immersed in timeless beauty of the rugged Mendocino Coast. Located two miles north of Mendocino, on Point Cabrillo Drive. For more information or to make reservations, call 707-937-6122, or visit www.pointcabrillo.org 
Little River Inn is another Mendocino Coast classic, built in 1857, and later on very much appreciated by the Hollywood celebrities of the Glamour Epoch. First discovered by Myrna Loy who was vacationing here in 1939, the Inn soon became a residence of choice for the stars, when films like “Frenchman’s Creek,” with Joan Fontaine and “Johnny Belinda” with Jane Wyman were being shot here. Ronald Reagan, Wyman’s husband, was staying at the Inn along with the cast. Later on, James Dean, Julie Harris and the rest of the “East of Eden” cast were staying here as well. Today, the property is still a charming white-walled Victorian, surrounded by wild cypresses, bougainvilleas and calla lilies with unobstructed ocean views, however, added modern conveniences include Jacuzzi, golf and tennis courses, a gift shop, Ole’s Whale Watch Bar, named after the original inn owner, and a fine dining restaurant with nightly specials. Located at 7901 N. Highway One, Little River, California.Call 707-937-5942 for reservations and information, or visit www.littleriverinn.com. 
The tiny village of Little River is used to catering to big tastes, and Stevenswood Restaurant is definitely a place to be for those who seek inspired and imaginative cuisine based on fresh local ingredients. Located at the AAA four-diamond spa resort nestled by the vast and wild Van Damme State Park, the restaurant has a spacious yet cozy dining room with a dramatic fireplace, large tables, comfortable armchairs, tasteful interior design and artwork on the walls. A floor-to-ceiling glass door opens into a lush garden, preceded by an Australian tea tree with myriads of velvety burgundy colored flowers on its branches. This serene and secluded ambiance, plus the friendliest welcoming service set the right mood for the “farm to table cuisine.” The menu changes often, but seasonal freshness, excellent preparation and presentation, and good size portions – not too small, but not overwhelming are guaranteed at any time. Look for Stevenswood Restaurant at 8211 North Highway One, Mendocino. Call 707-937-2810 or visit www.Stevenswood.com. For table reservations, call 800-421-2810.
To better explore the surrounding wilderness, take a 40-mile scenic ride on the Skunk Train from Fort Bragg to Willits and back, through the dense redwood forest, framed with stinging nettles and forget-me-nots. You’ll learn that the train got its name from the 1920s gas powered engine the smell of which preceded the arrival of the first car in plain view. The train runs through the 30 bridges over Noyo River and an antique tunnel, built by the Chinese laborers who came here from the Sierra in 1887-1893. An apple farm, built in 1904 at a cost of one dollar per acre of land at the time, will appear along the tracks, still planted with the ancient apple trees. For more information and reservations, call 866-457-5865 or visit www.SkunkTrain.com
Among the places not to be missed on your visit to Mendocino, named Historical Preservation District by the state of California, there are Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg, www.gardenbythesea.org; Jug Handle Nature Preserve, located half-way between Mendocino and Fort Bragg, www.parks.ca.gov; the house museums www.mendocinohistory.org; the ongoing Mendocino Arts Showcase, www.MendocinoArts.com; Ricochet Ridge Ranch (horseback riding) www.horse-vacation.com; Liquid Fusion Kayaking www.liquidfusionkayak.com; the many wonderful art galleries, www.mendocinocoast.com, www.northcoastartists.org, www.artsmendocino.org, www.mendocinostories.com, www.mendocinojewelry.com; and, of course, the outstanding wineries, like Zina Hyde Cunningham in Boonville, www.zinawinery.com; Goldeneye in Philo, www.goldeneyewinery.com, and Meyer Family Cellars in Yorkville, www.mfcellars.com. Photography by Yuri Krasov.
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