Page 149 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

Heritage & Culture
Native American tribes such as the Yurok
and Hoopa lived along the North Coast for
centuries before the arrival of fur trap-
pers—both Russians working their way
down from Alaska and American moun-
tain men such as Jedediah Smith coming
overland. For more than two centuries,
resource extraction—primarily logging—
was the region’s economic engine. As
dwindling forests and stricter environ-
mental laws took their tolls starting in the
1970s, the North Coast has transitioned to
tourism as its mainstay.
Family Fun
Young children might have trouble fully
appreciating the timelessness of an ancient
redwood tree, but they’ll enjoy a gondola
ride through the silent forest canopy and a
chance to have their picture taken with four-
story-high statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe
the Blue Ox. Look for it at Trees of Mystery,
near the town of Klamath.
BIKERS HUG the curves on Highway 1,
top; grapes on the vine show the
morning dew, Mendocino County,
below; Battery Point Lighthouse in
Crescent City, bottom.
INSIDER’S
»
TIP
To satisfy a lumberjack-sized
appetite, drive across Humboldt
Bay on the Samoa Bridge to the
SAMOA COOKHOUSE for colossal,
all-you-can-eat portions served
family style. The last surviving
cookhouse of its kind in the U.S.,
it’s been serving hungry mill
workers, longshoremen and
tourists since 1890.
samoacookhouse.com