Fort Bragg is a working coastal town on the Mendocino County coast — not a resort, but a real place where fishing boats still go out every morning and the fog burns off by afternoon. It sits at the northern end of the dramatic stretch of Highway 1 that makes the Mendocino coast one of the most scenic drives in California, and it makes a better base than the prettier but pricier town of Mendocino itself, ten miles south.
The town's two most distinctive attractions could hardly be more different. Glass Beach is a former municipal dump whose decades of discarded glass has been polished by the sea into smooth, frosted fragments — strange and beautiful. The Skunk Train is a heritage railroad that threads 40 miles through redwood canyon into the mountains, following a route built in 1885 to haul lumber.
Noyo Harbor is the working heart of the town — fishing boats, whale-watching cruises, and a handful of seafood restaurants on the water. The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens occupy 47 acres of coastal bluff two miles south, with views down to sea stacks and harbor seals. The North Coast Brewing Company operates from a converted church and produces some of the best craft beer on the California coast — the Red Seal Ale and Rasputin Imperial Stout are the picks.
Fort Bragg is practical — reasonable prices, good seafood, shorter drive from San Francisco than you'd expect. Come for the Mendocino coast scenery and the gray whales (November through April) and stay here.