6 of the Most Overlooked Towns in Northern California

While the crowds pile into Los Angeles for the Hollywood sign and Venice Beach, the northern half of California keeps its best small towns comparatively quiet. This is the part of the state with national parks full of ancient redwoods, some between 2,000 and 3,000 years old and standing as tall as 350 feet, and a coastline that trades boardwalks for jagged cliffs and fog. The six towns below sit away from the usual tourist routes, each one worth knowing for a reason all its own.

Eureka

Getting to Eureka is half the reason to go. The Redwood Highway runs up the coast through redwoods, the tallest trees on the planet, which can grow as high as 350 feet, roughly a 35-story building, and many of which were already ancient when Rome fell. Once you are in town, Samoa Beach, King Salmon Beach, and the Eureka Waterfront Trail all open onto the Pacific Ocean, and the Sequoia Park Zoo keeps spider monkeys, black bears, and river otters. For a more secluded stretch of sand, Centerville Beach County Park lies 25 miles south, where dramatic cliffs meet the open Pacific.

Mendocino

Mendocino packs a surprising amount into a tiny footprint. This small coastal town sits above jagged cliffs and sea arches, and despite its size it holds eight art galleries, more than ten restaurants including fine dining, and over a dozen hotels, so a morning hike along the bluffs can give way to an afternoon over coffee indoors. Just 22 minutes away, the Jughandle State Natural Reserve features a 2.5-mile staircase trail up an "ecological staircase" of marine terraces, each formed over hundreds of thousands of years by sea-level change and tectonic uplift.

St. Helena

St. Helena is the heart of Napa Valley wine country, with something for most tastes. Its culinary scene and contemporary art galleries anchor a walkable downtown, and the surrounding vineyards run public and private tours year-round. The town takes its name from nearby Mount Saint Helena, the 4,300-foot peak a Russian survey party named in 1841 for Princess Helena de Gagarin. The Mount Saint Helena Trail, about 22 miles away in Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, climbs roughly ten miles round trip to some of the widest panoramic views in the region and stays open all year. St. Helena has also turned up on screen, appearing in several films, and for a splurge, the five-star Meadowood Napa Valley makes a memorable base.

Sonora

Hollywood found Sonora long before most tourists did. More than 250 films and television series have been shot in and around this Gold Country town, and one look at its preserved main street explains why. Sonora grew up in the California Gold Rush of the 1850s and rode mining until tourism took over, and that history still lines the downtown. A local favorite today is the Indigeny Reserve, a 160-acre nature preserve and apple ranch on the edge of town. Sonora's bigger draw, though, sits about an hour east: Yosemite National Park, which spans more than 759,000 acres, ranked among the most-visited national parks in the country, and delivers landmarks like Glacier Point and the granite walls of the valley.

Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg turned its old garbage dump into its main attraction. For decades, residents threw appliances, glass, and household junk onto the shoreline here; after the site was closed, the Pacific spent years tumbling the broken glass into smooth, colored pebbles, and the result is Glass Beach, now drawing over a thousand visitors a day. Two miles away, Noyo Headlands Park spans 104 acres of bluff-top trails made for a jog, a bike ride, or a slow walk at dusk. For a proper Northern California afternoon, the North Coast Surf School runs beginner and advanced lessons in the cold Pacific swell.

Carmel-by-the-Sea

Carmel-by-the-Sea does small differently. Named one of the prettiest towns in the country, the village has no street addresses and no chain restaurants, quirks it has guarded for over a century, so mail comes to named buildings and dining means independent kitchens only. Its white-sand beach is made for a barefoot walk in the sea air, and its arts scene runs deep, anchored by galleries like the Gallery-by-the-Sea Carmel. To see the coastline that gave the town its name, Big Sur Adventures runs roughly two-hour guided e-bike tours past downtown, Carmel River Beach, and the Clinton Walker House, the Frank Lloyd Wright home above the water.

A Quieter Side of California

These six towns make the case that the best of California is not always the busiest part of it. Eureka has its giant historic trees, Mendocino its cliffs and sea arches, Fort Bragg its beach of tumbled glass, each a distinct reason to point the car north and away from the crowds. For anyone who already lives in the state, they are the places worth circling back to.