Mendocino County in Northern California Has 24 National and State Parks and 90 Miles of Idyllic Coastline — How to Plan Your Trip

Why Mendocino County is the perfect year-round California destination.

Northern California’s Mendocino County is home to an inordinate number of natural treasures, and so few residents that you’re often completely alone when exploring them. This was the case when I visited the coastal region with my mom and young daughter during peak summer travel season. At Russian Gulch State Park, on the bluffs of Mendocino Headlands State Park, at nearly every stop we made, we were on our own, ramblers in a sea of quiet.

That’s how it should be in Mendocino County because so much of the area is protected. There are 24 state and national parks here, plus hundreds of miles of incredible hiking and biking trails and secluded shores.

This is the ancestral land of the Pomo tribe, but European settlers arrived in the early 1800s and essentially pillaged it for timber. The Mendocino Lumber Company was founded in 1853, and it cut down trees here for almost a full century, until protections came into play. Stunning Hendy Woods State Park, for example, was established in 1958 to preserve old-growth redwood trees. Northern California’s coast is one of the few landscapes in the world where the magnificent redwood grows, and to walk among them is a spiritual experience — many have stood for more than 1,000 years, and they’ll be here long after those who gaze upon them.

For big trees, gorgeous coastal trails, and a peek at Golden State history, here’s how we suggest you explore Mendocino.