Enveloped by nature, I am engaging in something that is very much not in my nature. Among a stand of tall trees, on a bathhouse rooftop overlooking a babbling creek, I’m soaking in a clawfoot tub. It’s meant to be blissfully relaxing, but my mind is hung on the fact that I’m naked in public. “Public” is relative; Orr Hot Springs Resort is tucked deep in the wild throes of Mendocino County and my unclothed counterparts are decidedly hippie. I know I’m overthinking this whole nude hot spring experience, it’s just that I haven’t showered with a man who isn’t my husband in eight years. But if there’s one thing that embodies the Mendo vibe, it’s au natural.
I’m willing to bet this might be the first you’re hearing of Mendocino County. It’s just 150-odd kilometres north of San Francisco, but the winding backroads that insulate this rugged coast will test your stomach’s mettle. Make your way in and you’ll be rewarded with Mendocino’s unique brand of organic rebellion.
Home to 1970s back-to-the-landers and cannabis cultivators, this is a county of mavericks, makers and pinot noir winemakers. Farm stands that operate on the honour system, an absence of franchises and a county-wide ban on GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are the antithesis of American consumerism.
72 Hours in Mendocino County
Day 1
I arrive in Mendocino County via Highway 128, which deposits me into Yorkville Highlands wine region. At Yorkville Cellars (certified organic since 1986) sheep still mow the spaces between rows of vines. Next, I swoon for the 2013 Le Bon Bon cabernet at Meyer Family Cellars. I nip into Booneville to discover that it’s astonishingly hip for a one-horse kind of town. (Paella patio party, anyone?)
Home for the night is Philo’s The Madrones, a rustic collection of curated guest quarters that are luxurious without pretention. That evening, I venture down a rural backroad to The Bewildered Pig where Chef Janelle Weaver handily dishes up the best meal I’ll eat all year. Rustic and refined, there are no missteps on her menu.
Day 2
Jennifer Hubbert
The next morning a chorus of bleating newborn goats nuzzle my fingers at Pennyroyal Farm. The farm’s creamery churns out mouth-watering small batch cheeses, each named for a Boontling word. Boontling is Boonville’s near-extinct local jargon that includes ear-tickling terms like doolsey-boo and briney glimmer.
At Frankie’s, in pretty-as-a-postcard Mendocino village, I sample a novel local delicacy: ice cream imbued with candy cap mushroom. To my surprise, it tastes distinctly of maple. I walk my cone down to Mendocino Headlands State Park where ocean swells hypnotically caress the rugged coast. Later in the afternoon I check into Little River Inn, a charming oceanside hotel operated by a fifth-generation family innkeeper.
My room boasts a wood-burning fireplace, a feature that seems commonplace on this cozy coast. Wearing a gentle buzz courtesy of a gorgeous 2012 Panthea pinot noir, the crackling fire and a howling wind easily coax me to sleep.
Day 3
My final day in Mendo threads me through the county’s densely wooded hinterland. I crane my neck from trunk to canopy (about 100 metres) to admire thousand-year-old redwoods in Montgomery Woods State Park before stripping down at Orr Hot Springs. Then it’s one last glass of wine imbibed in the gardens of Campovida. What do I toast to? Mendocino’s enviable au natural joie de vivre, of course.
Got an extra night?
Steal giraffe kisses at B. Bryan Preserve in Point Arena. In summer, book an after dark Bioluminescence Tour with Catch-A-Canoe. Pulling your paddle through the water will provoke blooms of glowing plankton. Ride the historic Skunk Train through emerald deep woods, over wooden trestles and stone tunnels.
This article originally published in Canadian Traveller's 2018 California Guide.