Top 10 Things to do in Fort Bragg, United States

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens offers everything from colorful displays to thunderous waves. The mild maritime climate makes it a garden for all seasons, attracting gardeners and nature lovers. With manicured formal gardens, a dense coastal pine forest, native flora and habitats, fern-covered canyons, camellias, rhododendrons, magnolias and conifers, heaths and heathers, and flower-filled coastal bluffs overlooking the blue ocean, the garden is a jewel on the Pacific Coast. Open daily except the Saturday after Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. March-October 9am-5pm, November-February 9am-4pm. Rhody's Cafe, located in the Gardens, serves fresh, locally made lunches, coffee drinks, desserts, and Cowlicks'Hand Made Ice Cream. Picnic lunches are available. Open April-September, 11am-4pm. The Garden Store and Nursery on the Plaza are open daily. There is no admission charge to visit the Store, Nursery, or Cafe. ~Our mission is to engage and enrich lives by displaying and conserving plants in harmony with our Northern California coastal ecosystems.~

MacKerricher is a great place to observe whales, and it also provides a habitat for several rare plant species.

Fort Bragg, CA, has the highest concentration of sea glass in the world. Founded by Capt. Cass Forrington, a retired former deep sea captain, who scours Fort Bragg’s three world famous glass beaches for their rare and beautiful treasures, the Sea Glass Museum is the world’s largest permanent sea glass display with over 3,000 artifacts on display. The Sea Glass Museum is one of the most popular and beautiful attractions on the Mendocino coast and is a must see for children of all ages! Even grumpy faces leave the museum smiling. Be sure to stop in before visiting the beaches to get directions to the best sea glass locations, not only in Fort Bragg, but all along the Mendocino coast.

Perched right on the edge of the wild blue Pacific, Pacific Star has welcomed guests for 30 years. Classic as well as rare and unusual varietals and blends are our specialty, with grapes sourced from Mendocino County's heritage vineyards. We encourage guests to bring a picnic and experience amazing forces of nature and incredible views of the Pacific Ocean. Whales pass by just off the rocks and sea and bird life is vibrant. Our friendly and casual tasting room awaits your visit! Open 12 to 5 daily except Tuesday & Wednesday.

The sand at this unusual beach is covered with interesting-shaped and colored rocks and stones.

The Mendocino Coast Model Railroad and Historical Society (MCMR&HS) is based in Fort Bragg, CA. We are dedicated to preserving the history of the logging industry that built the towns along the Mendocino Coast. We educate children and adults about the loggers, mills, railroads, schooners and native people that were in this area during the “age of steam”. It’s sad but true that there has been no testament to the loggers and the railways that ran into the woods to feed the mills that existed at every river between Gualala and Westport in Mendocino County. Regrettably, the whistles of the mills and locomotives are all silent. MCMR&HS has created a "living history" of the Redwood Empire in the form of a large G-scale model railroad layout. Our layout depicts a logging railroad that might have existed around 1925 through 1940. It’s a living history of the Redwood Empire, the men who cut the giant trees and the railroads that brought the giant logs to the mill. We’ve also included the schooners that took the products to market from the dangerous doghole ports along the Mendocino Coast.