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- North Coast
California’s North Coast
Get to know the counties of California’s North Coast and Wine Region. Experience redwood forests, a sublime Pacific coastline, nature preserves, organic farms and creameries, pastoral wine and olive country, and world-class restaurants, inns, and spas. Experience the collective of Redwoods National and State Parks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Del Norte and Humboldt Counties.
Mendocino County is also heavily forested with redwoods and a stunning coastline, while inland to its east, Lake County takes its name from Clear Lake, the largest natural lake completely in California.
Sonoma and Napa Counties may be most famous for their world-class winemakers and are also considered to be part of the San Francisco Bay Area, but most of Sonoma County fits into the North Coast and both counties feel uniquely separate from (and more relaxed than) the bustling Bay Area.
North Coast Counties
DEL NORTE COUNTY
Crescent City
Photo by tatonomusic on Unsplash
Del Norte County
County Seat: Crescent City
- Redwoods
- Lighthouses
- Harbors
- River Rafting
- Hiking
HUMBOLDT COUNTY
Humboldt County Beach
Photo by ryan nalbach on Unsplash
Humboldt County
County Seat: Eureka
- Redwoods
- Victorian Architecture
- Covered Bridges
- Harbors & Piers
- Beaches
- Botanical Garden
MENDOCINO COUNTY
Mendocino
Photo by Anagha Varrier on Unsplash
Mendocino County
County Seat: Ukiah
- Redwoods
- Wineries & Breweries
- Cheese
- Mushroom Foraging
- Old Town Mendocino
- Beaches & Bluffs
- Lighthouses
- Whale-watching
- Fine Dining & Inns
LAKE COUNTY
Clear Lake
Lake County
County Seat: Lakeport
- Clear Lake
- Wineries & Olive Groves
- Geysers & Hot Springs
- Mount Konocti
SONOMA COUNTY
Sonoma Plaza
Sonoma County
County Seat: Santa Rosa
- World-class Wineries
- Picturesque Wine Valley
- Breweries, Distilleries & Cider Houses
- Farms & Farmer’s Markets
- Russian River
- Fine Dining & Michelin Stars
- Luxury Resorts & Inns
- Coastal Towns
- Bodega Bay
NAPA COUNTY
Castello di Amorosa
Napa County
County Seat: Napa
- World-class Wineries
- Picturesque Wine Valley
- Fine Dining & Michelin Stars
- Breweries, Distilleries & Cocktail Bars
- Luxury Resorts & Inns
- Golf
- Hot Air Balloons
Read More
All About California
Yosemite Spring
After California’s wettest winter on record, Yosemite Valley ran louder than usual — every fall at full volume, granite walls disappearing into mist, a rainbow waiting at the end of it. A spring trip through rain, the Ahwahnee’s fireplaces, and a detour to a fig-tree kitchen in Gold Rush country.
Mission San Juan Capistrano and the Pattern That Built a Coast
San Juan Capistrano holds the ruins of the Great Stone Church alongside the state’s oldest building still in use — a single site where the mission system’s architectural formula, and its human cost, are both fully legible. The same quadrangle logic repeats from Sonoma to Santa Barbara, and echoes once more, without the mission itself,…
Hearst Castle: The Discipline Behind the Excess
Hearst Castle is 165 rooms of Spanish Colonial, Moorish, Gothic, and Neoclassical detail, built over 28 years by the same architect who designed two buildings I’ve walked past my whole adult life in Sacramento. A family stop along the PCH, and a quieter return fourteen years later.