Going or returning on your coast trip, you can detour to the Lost Coast and/or to Ferndale. Ferndale is an easy stopover just five miles off Route 101. A loop via the Lost Coast and Ferndale will take a bit longer. If you decide to visit the Lost Coast, make sure there is some sun in the forecast. This is a very rainy area.

The Lost Coast
   The Lost Coast is truly "lost." From where Route 1 turns inland to Leggett and north to Humboldt Bay are 25 miles of the California coast. This area is so rugged that only a few roads penetrate it. However, you can comfortably explore the north portion of it without going far out of your way. The detour is about 70 miles of winding road. The road is paved but may be rough in spots and it will take at least three hours to drive with no stops. leave with plenty of gas and something to eat--there isn't much along this route that can claim the status of "town" before your reach Ferndale.
   From Route 101 in Humboldt Redwoods State Park,. take Bull Creek Road west (route to Rockefeller Forest). It becomes Mattole Road and, about 23 miles from Route 101, you will reach the hamlet of Honeydew. The road follows the Mattole River for another 14 miles to another little hamlet called Petrolia.
   

   From Petrolia, Lighthouse Road follows the river for five miles to the ocean and a beach. Harbor seals may frequent the mouth of the river. You can hike a trail along the beach three miles south to the abandoned Punta Gorda Lighthouse. If you are an intrepid backpacker, the Lost Coast Trail continues an additional 20 miles south. This stretch of the coast is very windy.  
   From Petroloa, Mattole Road continues above the river and then heads down for six miles to the coast. Along the way you'll pass green pastures and grazing sheep. The road follows the coast for about four miles past dunes, tidepools, and crashing surf. You then reach Cape Mendocino, the most westerly point in the lower 48 states. There is a lighthouse here. Mattole Road then turns inland and north for another 20 miles to Ferndale.

Ferndale
   If you like to photograph Victorian homes painted in glorious colors, then you will love Ferndale. This is probably the best preserved "Victorian village" in California, and it looks like it hasn't changed since the 1890s. The best place to start is right along Main Street. Several homes are bed & breakfast places if you want to stay here while photographing the architecture. The Gingerbread mansion at 400 Berding Street is a popular photo subject.
   If you happen to be here over Memorial Day, plan to stay for the Great Arcata to Ferndale Cross-country Kinetic Sculpture Race. Mobile "works of art" are pushed, pulled, paddled, or somehow persuaded over a course of land, mud flats, sand, water, freeway and whatever other challenging terrain can be found.

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