Exploring the Eel River Valley
Giant Redwood Trees, Ewoks and Victorian Gingerbread
Pull off the Interstate and take a drive back in time up Highway 101, parallel to the Northern California coast. Spend a leisurely day or two exploring the Eel River Valley area and you'll be amazed at what you'll find. Continued below. |
Giant Redwood Forest
Inside a Grove of Giant Redwood Trees on the Avenue of the Giants.
Photo courtesy of Jon Von Neumann.
Redwood forests are now found only in a narrow strip of temperate rain forest that stretches along the coast of Northern California. Those Giant Redwoods are so tall, so dense, and so crowded... more
Victorian Ferndale
Romantic Carriage Rides in Victorian Ferndale.
Ferndale is a photographer's paradise in a fairy-tale setting. The fertile bottom lands of the Eel River Valley made possible Victorian Ferndale's gingerbread homes, built from redwood lumber and dairy profits, and colloquially named "Butterfat Palaces". Ferndale has starred in two major motion pictures, Outbreak, starring Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman, and The Majestic, starring Jim Carrey. Take a stroll into the romantic past, explore the museums, visit quaint gift and specialty shops, see the blacksmith at his forge.
Explore the Environment
Visit the Lost Coast and Watch the Whales at Cape Mendocino. Photo courtesy of Mark Brown
Explore tide pools, watch the whales, enjoy a hike. Walk the Lost Coast. Enjoy North Coast California, there's no other place like it.
Birding at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Beaches and Bluffs
The Wildcat
Cape Mendocino
John Driscoll's Terror