North Coastal region

California North Coast

The North Coast of California (also called the Redwood Empire or the Redwood Coast) is the region in Northern California that lies on the Pacific coast between San Francisco Bay and the Oregon border. It commonly includes Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte

Sometimes includes two counties from the San Francisco Bay Area, Marin and Sonoma, - but we keep Marin and Sonoma counties in the San Francisco Bay Area   Get PDF North Coast MAP     Or this   Northern California Map 

County	Area	Population	Density
Del Norte	580 km2	28,610	9/km²
Cities: Crescent City Crescent City is the county seat and only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California. Named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city, Crescent City had a total population of 7,643 in the 2010 census
Humboldt County	10.495 km²	134,623	13/km²
Cities: Eureka.After the primary California Gold Rush in the Sierras, Humboldt Bay was settled with the intent of providing a convenient alternative to the long overland route from Sacramento to supply miners on the Trinity, Klamath and Salmon Rivers where gold had been discovered.
Mendocino County	10,040 km2	87,841	8,7/km²
Cities: Ukiah - Mendocino County is noted for its distinctive Pacific Ocean coastline, Redwood forests, wine production, microbrews, and liberal views about the use of cannabis and support for its legalization. It is estimated that roughly one-third of the economy is based on the cultivation of marijuana.
Lake County	3,440 km2	64,665	20/km2
Cities: Lakeport  Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2014 census, the population was 64,665. Lake County seat is Lakeport. Lake County takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California

There's another California north of the Golden Gate. A landscape of rugged coastlines, towering forests and sparkling lakes and rivers. A countryside full of cherished farms and vineyards. A place where small towns preserve the past and embrace the future. This is Authentic California, where unspoiled Nature rubs elbows with the good life, and the people are as real as our redwoods. The partners of the North Coast Tourism Council invite you to visit Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma Counties on your next Northern California vacation or holiday. Treat yourself to wine tasting in California Wine Country. Experience wonders of Nature in the California Redwoods. Drive the scenic Northern California coast for a romantic getaway or a relaxing beach vacation. Hankering for adventure travel without leaving the U.S.? You'll find the best of the outdoors with incredible walking and hiking, kayaking, river rafting, mountain biking, wildlife, rock climbing, fishing and camping. Explore classic small towns and delve into their arts, history, shopping and unique events. Find a comfy bed and breakfast inn or vacation rental, leave the big city behind and discover Authentic California.

The region's Pacific Ocean coast stretches from San Francisco Bay northwards to Humboldt Bay and on to the border of Oregon. The coastline is often inaccessible, and includes rocky cliffs and hills, streams and tide pools. The coastline from Centerville Beach near Ferndale to the mouth of the Klamath River is mostly beach accessible and there are many small towns and a few cities along Highway 101, the main route through the region. The sparsely populated interior territory further inland is characterized by rugged, often steep mountains, dissected by rivers and their typically narrow valleys and canyons, and dense redwood, Douglas fir, and oak forests. The climate can range from coast side lands drenched with fog in mild winters and summers to inland reaches baked by hot sunshine on long summer days, which, at higher elevations, can be blanketed with snow in winter.

The Chandlier Tree in Leggett Mendocino County

The Redwood forest north of San Francisco is a collection of some of the largest trees in the world. Towering hundreds of feet above the forest floor, some trees are wide enough to drive a car through. In fact, one particular titan is hollowed out to allow just that. There are three drive-thru redwood trees. One is the Chandlier Tree in Leggett. This is north of Laytonville, near the Highway 101 and Highway 1 junction.

The other two are located in Myers Flat (a town on the Avenue of the Giants)and Klamath (a town south of Crescent City).   Get the Redwood Highway 101 Map.

The grandeur of the redwoods can be experienced throughout the region, from the protected groves of Muir Woods National Monument and Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in the south to the massive Redwood forests of Humboldt Redwoods State Park along the Avenue of the Giants in the north. Redwoods are also found in many other State and local parks, most of which are located along Highway 101 throughout the far North Coast. Other larger redwood parks include Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and Redwood National and State Parks. In total, the redwood parks of the North Coast contain the vast majority of all remaining old-growth redwoods.

Mendocino California
Mendocino, perched on a bluff overlooking the California coast, is a small town where the tang of the sea drifts across the rocky headlands, and curlews drift on the wind. In the early spring, the lilies, iris and wildflowers splash the hillsides, and gray whales on their annual migration to the Arctic pass by in stately procession. Hiking trails through forest glades wind past gurgling creeks and inquisitive squirrels. Beyond the pebble-strewn beaches, the Pacific ocean stretches to the horizon of the western sky. The town itself was once the site of a lumber mill, and the early settlers who hailed from the east coast brought with them the architectural heritage of New England. Even today, visitors strolling past the churches, store fronts and homes of Mendocino, may be forgiven if they fancied themselves in the midst of a little town in Maine or Massachusetts rather than one situated on the California coast.

Del Norte County
is a county located at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of California, along the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Oregon border. As of the 2010 census, the population was 28,610. The county seat and only incorporated city is Crescent City.