Mendocino County | Highway 1 Road Trip Itinerary (Part 2)
I’m back today with PART 2 of our Highway 1 Road Trip Itinerary! And today’s leg of the trip is departing the Big Sur area and heading to Mendocino County. If you missed the other parts, check out the links below:
24 Hours in Big Sur | Highway 1 Road Trip Itinerary (Part 1)
Humboldt County | Highway 1 Road Trip Itinerary (Part 3)
This portion of our trip was two full days. The first day we left from our accommodations in Carmel-By-The-Sea and headed in the direction of Mendocino. Day 1 was a full driving day up the coast with a few stops you’ll see below. We made our way to our hotel in Fort Bragg by about 8pm that night and then had a full day in Mendocino County the next day.
If you’re looking for a place to stay in the Mendocino area, we loved our Fort Bragg hotel Noyo Harbor Inn (500 Casa Del Noyo, Fort Bragg, CA 95437). The location was great for all the activities we wanted to do and our hotel room was so beautiful.
So let’s get back in the car and hit the road!
WALK THE BEACH IN CAPITOLA
Our first stop of the day was just a short drive outside of Monterey, the small seaside town of Capitola in Santa Cruz County.
We loved stretching our legs walking this beautiful sandy beach. And, of course, the iconic colorful hotel was a very fun photo op!
But we didn’t waste much time, as we had a long drive day ahead of us. So we hopped back in the car and headed north towards San Francisco.
We didn’t end up stopping in San Francisco on this trip (since we want to make a whole dedicated future trip) but we did cross over the Golden Gate Bridge, which was pretty anticlimactic because it was a super cloudy morning. We couldn’t even tell we were on a bridge while crossing. Another excuse to go back!
SEE A SHIPWRECK AT POINT REYES STATION
Daniel is a big fan of shipwrecks so when I read about the S.S. Point Reyes Shipwreck, I knew we had to stop. And while it is not really a “shipwreck", more like a decaying boat stuck on a sandbar, it was still a fun roadside attraction to make a stop and take some pictures.
The best way to access the ship is by parking in the little town of Inverness and heading back behind the Inverness Store (12784 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Inverness, CA 94937).
LUNCH ON TOMALES BAY
Our next stop was one of my favorite places that we ate on this whole trip! I would highly recommend stopping for lunch on your trip up the coast at Tony’s Seafood (18863 Shoreline Hwy, Marshall, CA 94940). This waterfront restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor dining and specializes in seafood and oysters.
I absolutely loved being able to eat right on Tomales Bay. And the food was delicious! It was giving me all the vibes of living in a small fisherman seaside town, which if you know me, you know is my greatest dream :)
STOP TO SEE “THE BIRDS” HOUSE IN BODEGA BAY
We continued our way up Highway 1 for about another hour until we reached the town of Bodega. This small town is easy to miss, but we wanted to stop and see the infamous Potter Schoolhouse (17110 Bodega Ln, Bodega, CA 94922) — the iconic filming location for Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
It is a private residence so you can only view this historic building from the outside, but it was definitely a very cool landmark to see for any movie buffs! And you can also see the church next door, also featured in the movie.
TAKE IN THE OCEAN VIEW AT DUNCAN’S COVE
As we reached the Bodega Bay area, we were back to beautiful ocean views. And you will find a ton of little turnout areas on the side of the highway around this area, all with their own unique view points. But one that we particularly liked was Duncan’s Cove. There is a small parking area with a staircase leading down to a little sandy beach hidden in a rocky cove.
This would be a lovely spot for a picnic or a relaxing beach day if you have the time!
ENJOY THE PEACE AT SEA RANCH CHAPEL
The next portion of our drive was up the coast in Sonoma County, with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. This is definitely another place that I would love to make it’s own dedicated trip one day, there is so much to see in the area. But since the day was getting late, we had to keep driving north.
But we did manage to make one quick stop at The Sea Ranch Chapel (40033 CA-1, Sea Ranch, CA 95497). This non-denominational chapel is a stunning building with beautiful architecture and stained glass. And offers a super peaceful and tranquil place for prayer or meditation.
We successfully made it to our hotel in Fort Bragg later in the evening and we had an early night to prepare for all our Mendocino County adventuring the next day. Starting with our most anticipated activity of the trip…
RIDE THE SKUNK TRAIN RAILBIKES IN FORT BRAGG
Our first stop of our full day exploring Mendocino started with a trip to the historic Skunk Train station (100 W Laurel St, Fort Bragg, CA 95437) where we showed our online tickets and headed over to the nearby garage to begin our morning excursion of riding railbikes through a scenic forest of redwood trees on Pudding Creek.
First, we were shown an informative video about safety and how to use the railbikes. We each received a helmet and the bikes were adjusted for each rider. And then we were off with the group!
We had such a blast pedaling along historic railroad tracks, over wooden trestle bridges, and around redwood trees. And by pedaling I mean mostly just taking in the views, since these bikes are actually electric-powered! The guides we were traveling with were super informative about the nature around us and history of the area. We even saw a family of baby quails running past us on the trail. They were so cute!!
There was about a 50-minute stop in the middle of the woods at the Glen Blair Junction where they have a pavilion of tables for picnicking and a really beautiful nature trail to explore more of the forest. They also host a bar at this pavilion on the weekends that is only accessible by way of the Skunk Train, so I definitely want to come back to experience that sometime!
After a bit of rest, the guides turned our bikes around and we made our way back to the station. This experience was so fun and memorable! I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Fort Bragg/Mendocino area. They actually have a second longer route that Daniel and I want to come back and do someday.
After a long morning of fun, it was time to get some lunch! We drove down to the town of Mendocino (only about 15 minutes south down Hwy 1) to the GoodLife Cafe & Bakery (10483 Lansing St, Mendocino, CA 95460) where we filled up on lattes, delicious pastries, and a rice bowl. This cafe had such a cute outdoor patio to eat and their menu was super fresh and healthy! A great place to eat if you are looking for a break from all your road trip fried food.
We decided not to spend too much time in Mendocino and that we would come back in the evening to browse around because we wanted to make it to our next stop before they closed…
HIKE OUT TO THE POINT CABRILLO LIGHTHOUSE
After lunch, we were ready to do some more hiking. So we headed out to the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse (13800 Point Cabrillo Dr, Mendocino, CA 95460). There is a convenient parking area just off of the main road, and from there you can hike out to the cliffs and the lighthouse.
Daniel and I weren’t sure which way to go, so we ended up taking the more scenic trail (the North Trail) and I would HIGHLY recommend taking this route because it was a really cool narrow, secluded hiking trail through the brush that lead directly out to the ocean cliffs.
I think this was the moment of the trip when I was truly humbled by the greatness of the Pacific Ocean. It was such an epic view of the powerful waves below and really scary steep rocky cliffs.
We followed the trail around the edge of the coast until we reached the lighthouse. There is a museum in the base of the lighthouse that is open to the public along with a nearby marine science exhibit with a small aquarium and lots of information on wildlife in the area.
There are also several homes on the property that can be rented out to stay in, but are actually old restored lightkeeper homes.
Exploring this state park was another one of the highlights of this portion of the trip, so I would definitely recommend checking it out if you’re in the area.
ADMIRE THE COLORFUL SEA GLASS ON GLASS BEACH
Our next stop of the day was to the beach! We traveled back up to Fort Bragg where we explored Glass Beach — originally named for having an abundance of sea glass covering the ground from a time when garbage was regularly dumped on the nearby coastline.
Unfortunately, due to tourists collecting the glass, there really is not much of this colorful sea glass left, despite it being illegal to collect.
But besides admiring colorful glass pieces, there are also a lot of tide pools to search for and rocks to climb. So it is definitely still a worthwhile beach to visit! And we enjoyed just watching the surf roll in and listening to the waves lapping against the shore. It was such a beautiful view.
After spending some time at Glass Beach, we grabbed some pizza from D’aurelios (438 S Franklin St, Fort Bragg, CA 95437) to take back to our hotel. OMG this pizza was delicious and I would totally go there again the next time I’m in Fort Bragg!
EXPLORE DOWNTOWN MENDOCINO AT SUNSET
We timed our evening perfectly, to make it to our last stop as the sun was setting over the water, giving off the most beautiful golden glow.
We spent the rest of the evening strolling through downtown Mendocino. This coastal town is so charming with small cafes, shops, and historic architecture. Not too much was open at this time of the evening, but there was a jazz festival happening down by the water and we stopped at a quaint ice cream shop called Frankie’s (44951 Ukiah St, Mendocino, CA 95460) for a well deserved sweet treat.
And before leaving Fort Bragg in the morning, I wanted to give a special shout out to Headlands Coffeehouse (120 E Laurel St, Fort Bragg, CA 95437) for providing us with caffeine and yummy breakfast sandwiches as we headed out of town the next morning and off to our next location!
What a memorable day full of lots of amazing experiences! And there is still more to come, so stay tuned for PART 3 coming soon…
If you travel to the Mendocino area and visit any of these places, I’d love to hear about your trip! Bon voyage!
xo Rachael
