October trip

I am planning a SF trip for the first week of October and am looking for a side trip for a couple of days to supplement the SF and Napa nights already planned. Is Mendocino recommended for early October or is this the wrong season to plan a trip there?

October trip

Mendocino will be fine in early October. The rain doesn%26#39;t start until much later.

How much time do you have for the trip? If you have time to drive up the coast from Jenner, I can give you some neat stops along the way. It is a spectacular drive.

If you are doing Highway 101 instead of Hwy 1 (the one I mentioned) it is still a very nice drive and persons can recommend wine stops, etc.

October trip

Flying into SF on Friday and back out the following Saturday. We%26#39;re spending first night in SF, two days in Napa and two in Sausalito/SF at end of week but other than that, I%26#39;m looking for intenerary ideas to span the middle days. Last trip a few yrs back we visited Monterrey but we want to do something different this time. I%26#39;ve had suggestions of Lake Tahoe and Mendocino as options for side trips and I favored the idea of not having to drive all the way over to Nevada. Mendocino could be the first stop after driving up the coast on Saturday or Sunday and return with a night in Healdsburg and one or two in Napa before returning to Sausalito for the last two evenings.

Any other suggestions for an alterate site?

I would appreciate any help.

Thanks,

Mike

Hi Mike -

Sounds like a great trip. I would drive up the California Coast and down through the Sonoma/Napa wine country.

Go to Google Maps and you can follow the proposed itinerary.

Friday - Arrive in SF

Saturday - morning drive Hwy 1 and explore West Marin towns and coast (including Stinson Beach, Bolinas, Point Reyes Station) - check out the beaches including Limantour Beach, farmers market in Point Reyes Station, organic cheese production in Point Reyes Station, consider staying overnight at someplace like Olema Inn. (West Marin lodging)

Sunday - morning - explore Point Reyes National Seashore, after lunch, drive up through beautiful Bodega Bay and Gualala up to Mendocino (Mendocino lodging)

Monday - explore Mendocino and area (Mendocino lodging)

Tuesday - Drive up to Fort Bragg (I think there is the Skunk Railroad which is fun), drive over to Willits and down to the town of Healdsburg (Healdsburg lodging)

Wednesday - Explore the wine regions of the Dry Creek and Russian River and the town of Healdsburg. (My favorite region is Dry Creek including Ferrari Carrano and Preston wineries) (Healdsburg lodging)

Thursday - Drive/explore along the Alexander Valley (slightly north of Healdsburg) across to the Napa Valley town of Calistoga. Drive down the Napa Valley for winetasting (Napa Valley lodging)

Friday - Last day in the Napa Valley, drive to Sausalito/SF

Saturday - Fly home

October should be a fantastic time to come. It can be close to the ';crush'; in the wine country, so be sure to firm up your reservations early.

I hope this is helpful. The Northern California coast is very laid back, quiet and beautiful. (Some of these drives are quite slow due to curvy roads. - Give yourself time.) I think you will enjoy it.

AnnMV

What an amazing tourguide you are. I truly appreciate your kind sharing and I%26#39;ll certainly pass your suggestions along to my wife and travel partners.

I hope that I can return the favor sometime when you are looking for information on my coast.

Have a good evening,

Mike

Ann has given you a great itinerary;

Be aware that on the Coast Highway, after the nice simple drive from Bodega Bay to the Russian River, after Jenner, you will be on one of the most spectacular coastal drives in California, for about 8 miles. And will be high on the cliffs with incredible views and slow driving around the curves. (I do think it rivals Big Sur.)

About 10 miles from Jenner you come to Fort Ross State Historical Park, which is worth a stop. On this isolated coast the Russians, in the early 1800%26#39;s, had an outpost to protect their California interests from Spain, and they harvested otter pelts and traded them, and used the local Indians for labor. There is a beautiful small and rustic Russian Orthodox Church here. Sometimes there are ';living history'; exhibits.

http://www.mcn.org/1/rrparks/fortross/

You have to leave the highway shortly to see this, don%26#39;t miss the turnoff.

Three miles after this, stop at the Timber Cove Inn for a coffee or whatever. This was built buy a crazy visionary in the 1960%26#39;s who bought about 800 acres to develop as what we would now call ';sustainable development'; or whatever, with draconian rules to preserve the land and not have buildings intrude on it.

Anyway the Inn is architecturally beautiful with a soaring lobby and great views and a very tall modern statue of St Francis done by the famous late San Francisco sculptor Benianomo Bufano. The statue is dedicated to peace and needed to be put in place by helicopter. Ironically, the Vietnam war was in progress, and the ';statue to peace'; had to lie ignonimously in a field across from the inn until the war was over.

http://www.timbercoveinn.com/

The rest of the drive s pretty, of course, but a piece of cake.

Before you get to Gualala, you will pass through Sea Ranch, which was also a 60%26#39;s development by the Hawaiian company Castle and Cook. It used the same idea of preserving the land, and has strict architectural standards. The houses are in clusters, with lots of common space in between, and are generally colored grey, so as to not stand out.

The small town of Gualala, surprisingly, is a kind of artist colony, and if you watch for the turnoff to the Arts Center just before you enter the town you will find a lot of nice stuff. My sister-in-law does pine needle baskets and is having a private show in town next month.

http://www.gualala.com/

I hope I have not bored you to death. This is one of my favorite California trips. There is more history to it, but I will give you a pass. %26lt;grin%26gt;

Then.....on to Mendocino!

Have a great trip.

You have certainly gotten some great advice. If you do drive up the coast - make sure to stop at the Pt. Arena Lighthouse and in the little town of Elk - a great place to stay! For information on the Mendocino area - check out www.gomendo.com.

Also, leave the Mendocino Coast going 128 East through Anderson Valley - this is a beautiful drive with plenty of wineries (and even a brewery) to stop and explore. This valley, they say, is the Napa of 20 years ago.

October is the best time of year to visit (I think).

Enjoy!!

Mike -

Have a great trip. Happy to be helpful.

AnnMV

Thanks for the great suggestions. As we have moved through our planning this week, it looks as if we are going to leave SF early Sat morning to head north. We think we may have a free place to stay in Healdsburg/Windsor area Sunday night and our Monday night is already confirmed in Napa so I was wondering what you might suggest if we only have the one day to drive up to Mendocino and the 1/2 day on Sunday to kill before heading back toward Sonoma.

Rather than driving the coast the whole way, what do you think about driving up 101 for a while before swinging over to hit Hwy 1 so that we can make some good time for an hour or two before getting over to the slower winding road?

If we only have the one day, would you suggest that we drive ';best roads'; the whole way so we%26#39;ll have more time in the Mendocino area or am I overly concerned about the winding road it appears to be on the map? I just don%26#39;t want to spend 4 or 5 hrs behind the wheel after the long flight on Fri.

I just noticed your Mill Valley address. What a coincidence; my in-laws (Myers) live in Mill Valley. I%26#39;ll be sure to tell them how helpful their ';neighbor'; was.

Thanks again.

Mike

So, you are planning to drive to Mendocino on Saturday, coming back to the Healdsburg/Windsor area on Sunday night and then Napa on Monday night, right?

I would suggest driving the first day to Healdsburg on Hwy 101 and then taking 128 into Mendocino.

You will miss some spectacular coast scenery, but I think, since you don%26#39;t have time to rest between flights and drives, this would be my choice.

128 is the only reasonable way to get to the coast, after Santa Rosa, because the coastal range interferes and makes roads small and curvy and windy.

The other way is to go from Santa Rosa down River Road to the coast at Jenner and up from there. The drive is spectacular and windy on high cliffs, but slow.

You probably don%26#39;t want to do this, with your limited time frame.