Location: Mendocino
Top Things to do in Mendocino
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Things to do in Mendocino, California (CA): The Best Gift & Specialty Shops
Shop, eat, and enjoy the feeling of going back in time to a simpler era as you groove to the vibes of downtown Mendocino’s hippy past and quaint New England style architecture. Find a secluded bluff, and listen to seals splashing and barking. Visit the Mendocino Art Center, started by San Francisco artists in the 1950s. Enjoy a Mendocino Theater Company performance. Stop in historic Ford House, which doubles as city museum and Mendocino Headlands State Park visitors center. Mendocino Headlands State Park winds around Mendocino Bay, and is a wildlife corridor linking coast and inland areas. Savor the spring wildflowers. In July the Headlands and city are home to the Mendocino Music Festival. Groove to the ocean views, blowholes, wave tunnels, sea arches, grottos, and tide pools as you hike the beaches and cliff trails. Along the Mendocino Headlands Trail, watch for old cross-ties from the oxen-powered railway that dumped lumber to ships below the bluff. Drive 2 miles north of Mendocino to Russian Gulch State Park for rock fishing, swimming, skin diving, tide pools, bicycling, a 36-foot high waterfall, and a Devil's Punch Bowl of churning water. Savor spring rhododendron blooms at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. Take the family on the half-day Skunk Train roundtrip from Fort Bragg to inland Northspur. Bird watch at Cleone Lake, a tidal lagoon in MacKerricher State Park, 3 miles north of Fort Bragg. Enjoy MacKerricher’s wheelchair accessible nature trail, Ten Mile beach, fishing, hiking, jogging, horseback riding, and bicycling. Take the kids to Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park. Tee off at the 5,458-yard, 9-hole coastal golf course at Little River Inn, which also offers llama treks. Take the family to Little River State Park and Van Damme Beach State Park, which are near Little River Airport (KLLR). Kids love the recently renovated Point Arena Lighthouse, because they can climb to the top.
Restaurants in Mendocino
1. Lark In The Morning Musique Shoppe
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 4 reviews
Features a diverse array of musical instruments from around the world.
2. Gallery Bookshop & Bookwinkle's Children's Books
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 70 reviews
This bookstore caters to adults and children.
Reviewed By 394kayen
This is the type of bookstore where I could spend hours browsing, but they kindly asked patrons to limit their time to 20 minutes. I quickly found the one book I was looking for and also discovered another that I had to read. They limit the number of people in the store during the pandemic and marked spots for the checkout line. This was my first time in a bookstore during the pandemic, and their precautions helped me feel like it was a safe experience. I appreciated the sign on the window requiring masks, along with one for Black Lives Matter.
3. Out of this World
4. Smithwood Mercantile
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
5. Corners of the Mouth
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 18 reviews
Reviewed By sabine17093 - Mendocino, United States
Corners, as it's called here has wonderful organic veggies, fruit and everything else. It's been here forever, in an old church and a local favorite for shopping.
6. Mendocino Jams & Preserves
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 39 reviews
Mendocino Jams and Preserves, Dessert Sauces and Condiments are made with meticulous attention to quality and cleanliness. We guarantee every product which we produce to be consistently pure and delicious. We use the finest of ingredients….always…. We select first quality, whole ripe fruit, pure lemon juice, natural fruit pectin, and sugar . (We never use culled or pureed fruit, nor any preservatives or extenders.) Our sauces, too, feature the finest obtainable ingredients. We use the best chocolate, pure whole dairy cream, real butter, pure vanilla extract,choice quality nuts, and other wholesome and flavorful products. As with our jams there are never any chemical additives of any kind. We have developed our recipes so that they taste as close to fresh fruit as possible. By cooking the jams in small batches and using less sugar than most commercially produced jams, we have preserved the true fruit taste.
Reviewed By amctraveler123 - San Anselmo, United States
A great variety of wonderfully delicious jams & preserves. Friendly & helpful atmosphere too. Will be sure to shop again in the future!
7. Village Sock Shop
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
A sock-filled adventure! We offer fun, funky, and functional socks for all ages. We focus on renewable fibers, socks with guarantees, and ethically made inventory
Reviewed By amctraveler123 - San Anselmo, United States
Friendly owner & a great selection of fun socks for both adults & kids! A nice shop to wander into & browse. I came out with 2 pairs of fun socks for gifts!
8. Main Street Book Shop
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By amctraveler123 - San Anselmo, United States
We happened upon Main St Book Shop & were glad we stopped in. Friendly people, a nice selection of local topic books along with many other titles, lovely layout & atmosphere. We love discovering new bookshops wherever we go & this is one we'll be happy to come back to!
