Page 27 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

Washington’s Puget Sound. The city of
27,000 also serves as the unofficial capital
of the state’s Redwood Empire. Once famed
for its timber, mines and fisheries, Eureka
is a leading West Coast purveyor of succu-
lent farmed oysters. Most significantly for
visitors, Eureka offers an attractive preserve
of Victorian architecture such as the grand
1886 Carson Mansion at 2nd and M streets.
Shops, restaurants and B&Bs occupy some
of a staggering 1,500 Eureka buildings
listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. One-million-acre Six Rivers National
Forest is a near neighbor.
SONOMA: Wine & a Whole Lot More
Laid out around a traditional Mexican plaza
bordered by heritage buildings, this city of
11,000 an hour north of San Francisco grew
up around Mission San Francisco Solano.
The northernmost and last of the Roman
Catholic missions built by Franciscan friars
along the north-south spine of California,
the 1823 adobe with its historic olive groves
is still a focal point of spiritual and cultural
life. Sonoma was home to the 25-day Bear
Flag Revolt and “Republic of California’’ of
1846, an American uprising against Mexican
authorities that led to California statehood
in 1850. The plaza’s mid 19th-century build-
ings now comprise Sonoma State Historic
Park. Contemporary Sonoma is a family-
friendly getaway and jumping-off point
to Sonoma Valley wineries and the Sonoma
County coast. A variety of appealing restau-
rants and one-of-a-kind shops thrive on
and near the plaza, as does the 1931 Sebastiani
Theatre cinema. The Fairmont Sonoma
Mission Inn & Spa is a popular resort hotel
with a respected fine-dining restaurant in
Sante, while the Basque Boulangerie Café
on the plaza draws visitors and locals alike.
inches of snow, making it a winter desti-
nation for skiers, snowboarders and ice
skaters. The easily walked downtown,
just off Interstate 80 and also served by
Amtrak, claims pride of place on the
National Register of Historic Places.
» FIND YOUR
CITY FUN
TRUCKEE:
Classic Western Mountain Town
An atmospheric Nevada County hub of
16,000 on the western slopes of the Sierra
Nevada, Truckee is a classic Western
mountain town. As a frontier settlement
in the mid 19th century, it played a key
role in American westward migration
along the Emigrant Trail. Historically a
lumber and ice production center, con-
temporary Truckee is an urban base for
exploring the Sierra and visiting Lake
Tahoe. Some 200 miles east of San Fran-
cisco and 12 miles north of Lake Tahoe,
Truckee, with an elevation of nearly
6,000 feet, receives an average of 200
Bakersfield
visitbakersfield.com, 866-425-7353
Buellton
visitbuellton.com, 800-324-3800
Eureka
redwoods.info, 800-346-3482
La Quinta
visitgreaterpalmsprings.com/
our-cities/la-quinta, 800-967-3767
Oakland
visitoakland.org, 510-839-9000
San Luis Obispo
visitslo.com, 805-781-2777
Sonoma
sonomavalley.com, 866-996-1090
sonomacounty.com, 800-576-6662
Truckee
truckee.com, 866-443-2027
2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A 25