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Avenue of the Giants to Arcata
Continuing Your Redwoods & Mendocino Scenic Drive
Please read Part 1: “Introduction to redwoods and Mendocino scenic drive,” and parts 2 and 3 and especially 4 and 5 before this section, which brings you from Humboldt Redwoods State Park to Arcata, CA.
North to Arcata
Continue north on the Avenue of the Giants.
Soon, you’ll leave Humboldt State Park. The Avenue of the Giants ends at the U.S. 101 freeway.
Go north on the U.S. 101 freeway toward Eureka.
This fast highway will buy extra time to enjoy the Redwood National Park area.
Eel River delta
The U.S.101 freeway emerges from forested hills onto a very rich flat plain that with its mild climate is ideal for farming. This is the delta of the Eel River. You have followed its south fork through Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
Unlike many rivers in Northern California, the Eel depends almost entirely on winter rain runoff and quickly melting snow. There’s no heavy snow pack in its basin to melt over many months.
This means that the Eel becomes nearly dry by early summer but turns into a dangerous torrent during the winter and especially the spring that wipes out nearby redwoods and floods adjacent property. It also closes various footbridges in Humboldt State Park.
Nevertheless, flooding wasn’t the reason the railway, which parallels 101, last shut down isolating Eureka’s remaining timber industries. Severe damage from an earthquake keeps the railroad idle. Note all the stranded railway cars as you drive along.
Continue northbound on 101.
Side trip to Ferndale
Just 6 miles off 101, little Ferndale has preserved its Victorian heritage. The town is literally chock-a-block with Victorian buildings to enjoy
You’ll find one of the finest collections of lovingly preserved Victorian homes and commercial buildings in the country.
Ferndale has also become a center for art and antiques and repertory theatre. There’s also an emphasis on organic dairy and other products, as well as for 100% pasture fed animals.
You may have seen Ferndale in a number of movies and commercials, such as Jim Carrey’s “The Majestic” captured on film easily in Ferndale with an “It’s a Wonderful Life” feel, “Salem’s Lot,” “Outbreak,” “A Death in Canaan,” etc.
Walk and drive down the streets in its town center. Many local shops offer maps for a walking tour. Be sure to see its Gingerbread Mansion bed and breakfast at 400 Berding Street, just off the main drag.
Directions to Ferndale
Along U.S. 101, watch for the first Fernbridge exit. Yes, this is Fernbridge, not Ferndale.
Exit 101.
At the end of the off ramp, veer left under the freeway onto Fernbridge Drive.
Continue on Fernbridge Drive adjacent to the freeway and railway.
At the center of this small town, turn left onto State Highway 211.
Some older maps may show this as Highway 1, but it’s 211. There was a proposal to extend Highway 1 from the Mendocino coast toward Eureka, but it was never implemented.
Continue on Highway 211 to Ferndale.
Continuing on to Eureka
When done enjoying Ferndale, return to 101 on Highway 211.
When you reach Fernbridge Drive in Fernbridge, turn LEFT onto Fernbridge Drive.
Stay on Fernbridge Drive until it runs into the northbound U.S. 101 freeway.
Drive north on 101 toward Eureka.
Eureka
The California Department of Transportation knowingly or unknowingly took pity on the rather poor economy in Eureka. It has not bypassed Eureka with a U.S. 101 freeway.
It may seem as if you’re passing by every retail store in town, but this is not true, in part because 101 northbound and 101 southbound run on different streets in the downtown area.
As U.S. 101 winds through town, you’ll encounter nearly every less expensive or moderate cost chain motel imaginable. Unfortunately, very few of these are set back from traffic noise.
To save time for more natural areas, we suggest that you skip extensive Eureka sightseeing, unless you want to overnight there, or have more than 3 days for this drive.
On the other hand, Eureka does have much to offer.
Developed during the Victorian Age fronting on Humboldt Bay, Eureka enjoys a large stock of Victorian architecture and a nicely restored old town on the harbor. Turn left off of 101 at F Street if you would like to explore this historic section. F Street ends a few blocks ahead at the harbor.
If you take 2nd Street from this area eastward near the waterfront, you’ll reach M Street and 143 M Street, the location of one of the most prominent Victorian buildings in California, the Carson Mansion. What a sight this is!
State Highway 255
As you drive along101 toward the east end of Eureka, watch for large signs pointing to Highway 255.
Turn left off of 101 onto 255.
Within several moments, you’ll be crossing Humboldt Bay over several bridges.
Indian Island
Your route over Humboldt Bay takes you across two islands. The second, Indian Island, bears a sad history.
During 1860, whites on this island and at two nearby sites massacred perhaps as many as 200 members, mostly women and children, of the Wiyot Tribe on one night.
When Arcata newspaperman Bret Harte editorialized against the “cowardly butchery of sleeping women and children,” he was run out of town by a lynch mob and his press smashed.
Harte went on to become famous as the author “The Luck of Roaring Camp" and "The Outcasts of Poker Flat." Four films have been based on the latter, including one featuring Ronald Reagan.
During 1906, people of Chinese descent in Humboldt County were rounded up and confined to boxcars on Indian Island, before being ejected from the region. In a business directory, Humboldt County proudly claimed that it didn’t have a single “Chinese” in the county, an “honor” no other California county could claim.
These incidents make it all the more remarkable the high level of racial and ethnic tolerance you’ll encounter in Humboldt and Mendocino counties today.
Arcata Bottom
When you reach the stop sign at the end of the bay crossing, turn right and continue on 255.
Watch your speed. This road is heavily patrolled.
Also, watch for bicycles. This is a favorite route.
You’re driving on the “Arcata Bottom,” an extremely rich land that supports the local organic diary industry. Being nearly sea level, it’s also one of the most dangerous potential tsunami spots along the California coastline.
Because a major extension of the San Andreas Fault runs just offshore, Humboldt County may get no warning of a tsunami. This area is also vulnerable to earthquakes in other areas of the Pacific.
For example, in 1964, a tsunami generated by the Alaska earthquake killed 11 in Crescent City, just north of Redwood National Park. You’ll still find blocks west of Crescent City’s downtown where homes were never rebuilt.
Continue east on Highway 255 as you travel from Eureka to Arcata.
You’ll enjoy fine views of Humboldt Bay on your right. In the distance, to your far left, large dunes line the Pacific shore. As you continue on, you’ll begin to see Arcata on the redwood-covered hills in the distance. This is nice country.
Arriving in Arcata
Once in Arcata, turn left off of 255 onto northbound G Street at the light.
Go on to Part 7: Arcata travel guide, and continue your redwoods and Mendocino scenic drive!
Or, go on to Part 9: Scenic drive from Arcata to Redwood National Park, if you don’t have time to stop in Arcata.
Part 1: Redwood and Mendocino scenic drive introduction,
Part 2: Directions from San Francisco to Mendocino,
Part 3: Mendocino scenic drive,
Part 4: Avenue of the Giants scenic drive,
Part 5: Avenue of the Giants scenic drive (continued),
Part 6: Scenic drive from Avenue of the Giants to Arcata,
Part 7: Arcata travel guide – what to do,
Part 8: Humboldt and Mendocino counties in depth,
Part 9: Scenic drive from Arcata to Redwood National Park,
Part 10: From Redwood National Park to San Francisco,
Part 11: Motels and hotels along your redwood scenic drive,
Part 12: Camping along your redwood scenic drive, and
Part 13: Mendocino and Redwood parks airport choices.
