You might be able to see bigger redwoods in other parts of Northern California, but no redwood exploration home base compares with the seaside town of Fort Bragg where you’ll find abundant lodging, food choices (for every budget and culinary bent), entertainment and more.

The “more” part is just a laid back way of indicating there is more to do. Actually, we should say “SO MUCH MORE.”

Destinations Within A Destination

Exploring redwood country can keep you happily busy for a day, a weekend, a week or longer. There’s something for everyone in and around The New Fort Bragg. Take a look:

Montgomery Woods – Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve is located in the heart of the Coast Range. Take a picnic and travel trails to any of the five separate redwood groves that have never been logged.

Apart from the redwoods you might consider these activities:

C.V. Starr Community Center – Take a swim or one of many recreation classes and exercise programs at this spectacular new family-oriented community center and aquatic facility. There’s something fun for youth and adults of all ages.

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens –The only public garden on the Coast in the U.S. with 47 acres of gardens and plants, the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens offers everything from colorful plant displays to thunderous waves. The mild maritime climate makes it a garden for all seasons, attracting gardeners and nature lovers. With manicured formal gardens, a dense coastal pine forest, native flora and habitats, fern-covered canyons, camellias, rhododendrons, magnolias and conifers, heaths and heathers, and flower-filled coastal bluffs overlooking the blue ocean, the garden is a jewel on the Pacific Coast.

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse – Just south of Fort Bragg, this 100-year old facility is one of the last original lighthouses still operating as a federal aid to navigation. Enjoy the marine life exhibit, museum and gift shop. Or rent the restored Head Light Keeper’s House for the weekend. Walk to the site of the 1850 Frolic shipwreck, called “the most significant shipwreck on the west coast” by historians at the San Francisco Maritime Museum.

MacKerricher State Park – Experience a variety of habitats: tide pools, beach, bluff, headland, dune, forest and wetland. The visitor center has displays on abundant local wildlife and a complete Gray Whale Skeleton. A paradise for hikers, joggers, equestrians and bicyclists. Fishing is also popular at Cleone Lake, a formal tidal pool lagoon within the park. There’s also a wheelchair accessible nature trail. 

Russian Gulch State Park — Experience heavily forested Russian Gulch Creek Canyon, a headland that features the Devil’s Punch Bowl (a large, collapsed sea cave with churning water), and a beach that offers swimming, tide pool exploring, skin diving and rock fishing. Take an easy trail to a 36-foot high waterfall. 

Cultural Life: Art Displays And More – There are numerous galleries, restaurants and retail locations where you can view the work of local artists. During the summer, you can join the monthly First Friday Artwalks with music, family activities and – of course – art.