Page 131 - 2018 Travel Guide to California

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MUS
T
SEE,
DO
HUMBOLDT COUNTY SHORE,
above; the “Pink Lady” Victorian
in Eureka, right.
INSIDER’S
»
TIP
Once a seedy skid row, EUREKA’S
WATERFRONT has been
transformed into the city’s
liveliest and most inviting district,
with Victorian storefronts
housing restaurants, galleries,
shops and museums, all crowned
by the iconic CARSON MANSION,
a masterpiece of over-the-top
Victorian opulence.
eurekaoldtown.com
The sounds of chainsaws and buzzing
sawmills that once dominated the North
Coast are rapidly fading as the lumber
industry winds down. In former mill
towns such as Fort Bragg, tourism is
replacing timber as innovative galleries,
restaurants and brew-pubs spring to life.
Although it’s sometimes called the
Redwood Empire, the North Coast is
more than just tall trees: It’s also salmon-
fishing boats bobbing in tiny harbors;
Roosevelt elk bugling across misty
meadows; steam trains chuffing through
a damp and dripping forest; hole-in-the-
wall restaurants serving fish smoked
according to traditional Native American
» Forest Tracks Built in 1885 to haul redwood
logs from the tangled backcountry to coastal
sawmills, the iconic Skunk Train now carries
passengers on two different runs starting at Fort
Bragg and the inland town of Willits, respectively.
The shorter coastal route snakes along the Novo
River canyon, through redwood groves and past an
old logging camp. And don’t worry: The train’s name
derives from an original, stinky gasoline engine that
long ago was consigned to the junkyard.
› skunktrain.com
» Boulevard of Big Trees The Avenue of the
Giants is a 31-mile detour from Highway 101 that
weaves in and out of lofty, old-growth redwood trees
like a slalom course. The route takes you through the
heart of Humboldt Redwoods State Park, one of the
best places along the North Coast to gaze up in awe.
Sunnier and drier than redwood parks farther to the
north, it’s less tangled with undergrowth, making it
easier to wander and wonder.
› avenueofthegiants.net
» Community Forest Arcata, with a town
square lined with a mixture of hippie-chic
boutiques, eclectic restaurants and old-time
lumberjack bars, is home to Humboldt State
University. Spend some time wandering its
community forest and the innovative wastewater
treatment facility that has become a thriving
sanctuary for migratory birds.
› cityofarcata.org
» Big Eats To satisfy a lumberjack-sized
appetite, drive across Humboldt Bay on the Samoa
Bridge to the Samoa Cookhouse for colossal, all-
you-can-eat meals 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.net
» Victorian Hamlet Gaily painted Victorian
mansions line the streets of Ferndale, an idyllic
hamlet on the Eel River delta in southern Humboldt
County. Lovingly preserved, they give the town a
turn-of-the-last-century look that has proven
irresistible to Hollywood. More than a dozen movies
have been filmed here. Main Street’s shops keep the
Victorian theme going, with old-fashioned
mercantiles and even a blacksmith shop. Cradled
between two redwood forests, the entire town is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
› victorianferndale.com
2018 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A 129