People often forget that there’s beautiful, wild coastline north of San Francisco. Most people flock to Big Sur for the weekend. I choose Mendocino, every time. It feels so much more remote. There are fewer people, good food, and tons of public land to explore. Read on for my picks on how to spend a weekend in Mendocino.
If you’re planning an escape from the Bay Area, look no further than the Inn at Newport Ranch. This quiet destination on the wild North Coast has everything you need for a relaxing weekend.
On a less rainy weekend this past winter, I decided to leave hibernation and escape to the North Coast. The North Coast is a wild, beautiful and much less popular destination than Big Sur, south of the Bay Area. Enormous coastal redwoods call the North Coast home. The area is filled with logging history and relics of that era, including the Skunk Train. A few years ago, we got to take the Skunk Train to Camp Noyo. This time around, we decided to take the Skunk Train Rail Bikes out for a spin.
The Little River Inn recently extended an invite to attend their first ever Ferment and Forage Experience celebrating the gathering food from the land and sea. I grew up picking blackberries on bushes at summer camp and eating vinegar ants right out of the ant hill. After hearing countless stories of how friends foraged for mushrooms and the like in my metaphorical backyard, I wanted to learn how.
The Little River Inn brought Kevin from Countryman Forager, folx from Freedive Shop, Emma from Rising Tide Sea Vegetables, and the Inn’s own manager and resident fermenter, Cally, for foraging and cooking demos. If you’ve ever been curious about eating in the wild, this event is an excellent stepping stone.
As the sun sets on summer I’m finally getting around to talking about the trips I’ve been on. This past summer has been a bit of a lazy one. I planned on climbing something every weekend, but I can count the number of alpine starts I got on 2 fingers. Instead, I filled my schedule with backpacking and train camping.
If Big Sur is a popular cheerleader, Mendocino is her older, cooler, more aloof older sister. Situated four hours north of San Francisco, this North Coast destination has plenty to offer the weekend warrior. Russian Gulch State Park and the Fern Canyon and Waterfall Loop are some trails that should not be missed.
