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Point Cabrillo Light Station On the frontage road off Highway 1 between Mendocino and Fort Bragg. It’s a slight downhill out to the water’s edge, a slight uphill back. Trails meander along the headlands and converge at the lighthouse and museum; wheelchair users can take Lighthouse Road out to the point. Rich history is on display from Frolic Cove, the site of the 1850 shipwreck of the Frolic, a clipper brig bound for San Francisco from China. The rehabbed 1909 lighthouse operated a Fresnel lens, one of a dozen in the United States. Today, the park includes the Lighthouse Museum, which showcases artifacts from the shipwreck, the blacksmith/carpenter shop, the oil house, the Marine Science Exhibit (some cool aquariums in here), and the First Assistant Lightkeeper’s House that’s open to tour. Also on-site: historic buildings converted to vacation rentals. Point Cabrillo lies on The Whale Trail, a series of sites from which you can spy whales and other marine mammals. For some frolicking seals, simply stand at the edge of the ocean inlet just south of Point Cabrillo’s blacksmith shop—and look down.
Glendeven Inn & Lodge, Little River This peaceful farmstead in Little River, just south of Mendocino, delights guests with its array of bed-andbreakfast accommodations and amenities. Stay in the 1867 farmhouse, the more contemporary lodge house, the carriage house, barn or private cottage that’s steps from a trail to the beach. On the compound, you’ll dis-
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SACRAMENTO MAGAZINE August 2020
cover llamas, chickens and a garden that supplies ingredients for house-made breakfasts (delivered to your door), The Wine Bar[n] serving Mendocino County vintages, and adjacent trails descending to the forest and beach and out to the headlands. The forest trail drops into Van Damme State Park’s lowlands along its Fern Canyon Trail, where 10 bridges span the Little River. Of the numerous inns in the Mendocino area, Glendeven shines with its flawless mixture of full-service luxury, bucolic relaxation and celebration of local flavor.