Page 205 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2025 GRAND VOYAGE

quire no driving. Everyone I encountered
was pleasant and warm — despite a chill in
the October air — and obviously very
pleased they picked this place, too.
It’s a very artsy town, where several
galleries hold steady. The Mendocino Art
Center was formed here in 1959 and offers
a gallery shop, gardens, several art studios
including a ceramics studio, and even small
apartments for visiting artists.
Just wandering through town to marvel
at the Victorian architecture on every
street is itself a splendid pastime.
My greatest forest thrills here had to
do with redwoods. Closest to town was
Navarro River Redwoods State Park which
covers 660 acres along a 14-mile Navarro
River Corridor.
State Highway 128 runs right through
this state park and for 11 miles here, you
are on what locals call “the greatest
stretch of California road you’ve never
heard of.”
Indeed, this highway is absolutely
amazing because of the giant redwoods it
winds through. But there isn’t really a cen-
tral park to find here: I kept driving that
road over and over to find such an en-
trance, but eventually learned there isn’t
any. There are pull-outs on the road so you
can make you own way into the redwoods,
but there aren’t any designated trails or
parking facilities. Still, it’s a road you’ll be
happy vto traverse over and over.
And on my drive up to Mendocino
from the Santa Rosa Airport, I stopped at
Hendy Woods State Park, which was an ab-
solute highlight.

The lighthouse at Point Cabrillo offers
accommodations in the old light keepers’
homes. Right: The crab cake salad special
at Patterson’s Pub was delightful. Left:
Hiking the trails in Hendy Woods State
Park is a thrill for hikers who love old-
growth redwoods.

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