Visit Mendocino County: Redwoods, Coast, and Harvest Mendocino — Stay in Willits

Mendocino County is the part of California where the redwoods meet the sea, and Willits sits right in the middle of it. From here you can walk an old-growth grove in the morning, ride the Skunk Train out of town, spend the afternoon on the Mendocino Coast, and still be back for a quiet night in a courtyard — no long drive home in the dark.

This is the trip we see guests make again and again from The Old West Inn, and it is the trip Visit Mendocino County — the county's destination marketing organisation, at visitmendocino.com — builds its seasons around. Start your planning there: their itineraries, event calendar, and Harvest Mendocino pages are the county's own guide to what is on. Then use this post as the Willits version: what to do, in what order, and where to base yourself so the driving stays easy.

November is Mushroom Month in Mendocino County, part of Harvest Mendocino, and it is one of the best months to visit. Visit Mendocino County describes it as the month to “find real magic in Mendocino County,” with culinary creations, local wines and spirits, and chances to learn to forage for wild fungi — and, in their words, to “unplug, reconnect with nature” while staying in one-of-a-kind accommodation in Northern California. The county's Harvest Mendocino 2026 page lists the season's events, lodging, and deals, and it is the page to check first for anything dated in this section, because event details change.

The 2026 Mushroom Month events on that page, all in November, are:

• Musical Mushroom Train, Saturday, November 7, 11:30am–3:30pm. The 5th annual Musical Mushroom Train rides the historic Skunk Train out to a private pavilion in the redwoods, with live bands, a DJ and dance deck under a forest canopy, mushroom-centred bites and cocktails, hot dogs and s'mores around firepits, and forest bathing walks and foraging talks. It is a MendoParks fundraiser. Tickets are through the organisers — see the MendoParks mushroom-train page — and registration is required. Our own note, plainly: the Skunk Train runs this train as a MendoParks fundraiser and does not promote it as a regular Skunk Train trip, so book through MendoParks, not by asking the depot for a Mushroom Train ticket.

• Mushroom & Whiskey Distiller's Dinner, Thursday, November 5, 6:30pm, HarborView Bistro & Bar, Fort Bragg. A multi-course mushroom dinner with pairings from Master Distiller Crispin Cain of Mendocino Spirits. Reserve a seat through HarborView Bistro.

• Two Forager's Feasts. Sunday, November 8, 11:30am–3:30pm, at Goldeneye Winery in Anderson Valley, with mushroom morsels paired with wines; and Saturday, November 14, 6:00pm, at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Bragg, Chef Chad Hyatt's Mushroom Hunter's Kitchen. These are two different events — do not mix them up when you book.

• Fungi Festival and Cultural Convergence, Saturday–Sunday, November 14–15, 10:00am–4:00pm, Caspar Community Center. The Mendocino Coast Mushroom Club's 3rd annual festival, with guided morning forays each day, fibre arts and hands-on propagation workshops, activities for kids, and artisans and vendors.

• Mushroom Walks, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, every Monday beginning November 16. A guided tour of the Gardens' mushroom collection — more than 160 species of wild mushrooms in fall and winter, according to Visit Mendocino County — with a 45-minute introduction followed by a 2-hour guided field walk. Registration and reservations are required for all Harvest Mendocino events, so book the walk before you drive to Fort Bragg.

November is also prime mushroom season along the Mendocino Coast: autumn rains bring more than 160 species up through the forest floor. If you forage, do it on a guided walk with a mycologist, and follow the rules where you walk — in the Botanical Gardens, and in the parks below, picking and collecting are not allowed. The guided walks exist so you can learn without guessing.

Willits is the first redwood town on the road north on Highway 101, and the big trees are the reason many guests come. Two groves are worth planning a whole morning or day around. Neither needs a ticket, but both need a current check before you go — trail work, parking, and visitor-centre hours change with the season.

Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve. An old-growth coast redwood grove northwest of Ukiah on Orr Springs Road — California State Parks gives the directions as 13 miles northwest of Ukiah and 32 miles southeast of Mendocino on Orr Springs Road. The walk is a 2-mile loop trail through what State Parks calls one of the county's last unspoiled redwood canyons. It is day use only: no camping, and no visitor centre. A trails project has been under way with limited parking, so check the State Parks page for Montgomery Woods before you set out, and do not rely on a street number from a search listing — sources conflict, and the State Parks directions are the ones to use. Official page: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=434

Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the Avenue of the Giants. Further north on Highway 101, this is the largest remaining old-growth redwood forest in the world, according to State Parks, and the 32-mile Avenue of the Giants auto tour runs through it. The park headquarters and visitor centre are at 17119 Avenue of the Giants, Weott. Visitor-centre hours vary by season, so check before you go rather than trusting a listing. This is a full day from Willits, and it is the day to break with a night here: drive up through the groves, and sleep in Willits on the way back instead of pushing on. Official page: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=425

A note on photos, because it matters for this post and for the county: the redwood photos here are of a redwood grove, and they are not captioned as a named park. A generic grove photo should never be presented as Montgomery Woods, the Avenue of the Giants, or any other named place. When you go, take your own — the trees are the photo.

The Skunk Train leaves from Willits itself, at the depot at 299 E Commercial St. That is what makes it different from most Mendocino County attractions: you can walk to the train, ride into the redwoods, and walk back to a quiet courtyard the same day.

The Willits ride to know is the Wolf Tree Turn: a 2-hour, 16-mile round trip from Willits over the line's summit, through Tunnel #2 and into the Noyo River Canyon, with a stop at Crowley to see the Wolf Tree. The Skunk Train's own ride page describes the season as early spring through December — Willits trains run seasonally, so check departure days and times and book tickets on skunktrain.com before you plan a day around it. The Fort Bragg departure, the 75-minute Pudding Creek Express along the Pudding Creek Estuary, is the coast-day version of the same idea: ride the estuary, then sleep inland in Willits.

If you are coming for the Musical Mushroom Train on November 7, remember it is a different thing from the Wolf Tree Turn: a MendoParks fundraiser departing Fort Bragg, booked through MendoParks. Both are worth doing. They are not the same ticket.

The coast is the second half of a Mendocino County trip, and the pattern that works best from Willits is simple: coast by day, Willits by night. You get the ocean, the headlands, and the gardens, and you sleep inland, where the evening is quieter and warmer, with no coast drive home in the dark.

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Fort Bragg. A nonprofit botanical garden on the Pacific at Fort Bragg — manicured gardens and wild habitat together, 47 acres. The Mushroom Walks above are the November reason to go, but the Gardens are a year-round coast stop. Address: 18220 N Hwy 1, Fort Bragg. Official site: https://www.gardenbythesea.org/

Glass Beach and MacKerricher State Park, Fort Bragg. Glass Beach is the shoreline of smooth, wave-tumbled sea glass at the south end of MacKerricher State Park. State Parks is clear: no sea glass may be taken, and all natural and cultural features are protected by law. Look, photograph, leave it there. MacKerricher itself is nine miles of coastline — beaches, dunes, headlands, coves, wetlands, tide pools, forest, and Lake Cleone, with a boardwalk and campground. Address: 24100 MacKerricher Park Rd, Fort Bragg. Official page: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=436

Mendocino Headlands State Park and the village of Mendocino. Gentle trails, rugged coastline, secluded beaches, and the Ford House Visitor Center in the village of Mendocino, off Highway 1. The park is day use only, with no camping. Walk the headlands, eat in the village, and come back to Willits for the night. Official page: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=442

Van Damme State Park, Little River. A coastal park with a beach, Fern Canyon trails along the Little River, and a boardwalked Pygmy Forest of stunted cypress and pine. It is the quieter coast stop on this list, and the one to pair with a slow drive home on Highway 1 to Highway 20 and back to Willits. Official page: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=433

None of the coast stops above needs a whole day on its own. Two or three, done slowly, with lunch in Fort Bragg or Mendocino village, is a full coast day. Then Willits.

Willits is not just a base. It is a small town with its own history, and a day in town is a good day — especially the day you arrive, or the day between a redwood day and a coast day.

Mendocino County Museum, 400 E Commercial St. The county history museum, covering the people, places, and stories of Mendocino County — logging, railroad, Native American heritage, and agriculture. Hours conflict across listings, so check the county museum page before you go rather than trusting a search result. Official page: https://www.mendocinocounty.gov/All-Departments/Museum

Next door in spirit, if not in building, is Roots of Motive Power, 420 E Commercial St, the all-volunteer nonprofit preserving steam- and diesel-powered logging and railroad equipment, with an Engine House and research library. It runs on volunteer work days, so check its own site for when it is open before you plan around it. Official site: https://rootsofmotivepower.com/

Ridgewood Ranch and Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit's Willits is Ridgewood Ranch, the historic working ranch that was his home and is his final resting place, with a Stud Barn Museum, his stall, a bronze statue, and the ranch house. Tours are by reservation, and it is a privately owned working ranch, so book through the Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation before you go, and check the current tour format and price on their tours page — older listings describe different formats. Official page: https://www.seabiscuitheritage.org/tours/

Willits Community Theatre, 37 W Van Ln. A community theatre with a real season — in November 2026, a staged reading of Brecht's “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” and a Dirty Cello night. Check show times and tickets on the theatre's own site before you plan an evening around a show. Official site: https://www.wctperformingartscenter.org/

Main Street. Mariposa Market, the natural foods store at 500 S Main St, is the picnic stop: organic produce, local meats, artisan cheeses, and a deli for sandwiches, soups, salads, and baked goods. The Willits Center for the Arts, at 71 E Commercial St, runs gallery shows, classes, and performances. And in the evening, Shanachie Pub at 50 S Main St is the live-music room — musicians playing in Willits often stay with us, and a late show is easy when the inn is Open 24 Hours and a few minutes away. Check the pub's own schedule material for the current week's show before you name one.

Mendocino County has nearly 70 tasting rooms along Highways 101 and 128, according to Visit Mendocino County, and the eating is as much a reason to come as the trees. A few places that fit the Willits-based trip in this post:

• Lumberjacks Restaurant, 1740 S Main St, Willits. The log-cabin American diner where our breakfast voucher works — see the breakfast note below. Breakfast through dinner, in town.

• HarborView Bistro & Bar, Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg. Harbor-front dining at Noyo Harbor Inn, and the venue for the November 5 Mushroom & Whiskey Dinner. A Fort Bragg dinner before a Willits night.

• Goldeneye Winery, Anderson Valley. Pinot Noir in Anderson Valley, and the venue for the November 8 Forager's Feast. Anderson Valley is the wine day from Willits: Highway 128 out, wineries and tasting rooms, Highway 128 back.

• Mendocino Spirits / Tamar Distillery, Redwood Valley. Craft distillery making Low Gap Whiskey, Russell Henry Gins, and bottled cocktails. Check their own site for tastings and tours before you go.

This is a starting list, not a complete guide to eating in the county. Visit Mendocino County's itineraries and Harvest Mendocino pages are the fuller version, and they are kept current by the people who run the county's marketing — use them for the newest openings and seasonal menus.

Guests ask about breakfast more than almost anything else, so here it is in full. The Old West Inn does not serve breakfast on site. What we do is a voucher: $10 per person at Lumberjacks Restaurant, 7–11am, 7 hot breakfast plates, and you pay Lumberjacks directly. Pick up a voucher at the inn office. That is the whole arrangement — not complimentary, not $5, not on site. If you see an older listing anywhere that says $5 or complimentary, it is out of date.

Two nights, arriving Friday. Friday: arrive in Willits, museum and Main Street in the afternoon, theatre or live music in the evening. Saturday: Skunk Train Wolf Tree Turn in the morning, redwoods in the afternoon, quiet courtyard night. Sunday: coast day — Botanical Gardens, Glass Beach, Mendocino village — then home, or one more night.

Three nights, for Harvest Mendocino in November. Night one in Willits. Day two: Mushroom Train or a Mushroom Walk, depending on the date. Day three: redwoods — Montgomery Woods in the morning, Avenue of the Giants if you want the long version. Day four: coast, then home. The Fungi Festival weekend, November 14–15, fits the same shape: festival on Saturday and Sunday, Willits nights on both sides.

Driving note. Mendocino County is big, and the roads are two-lane in places. Do not try to do redwoods, coast, and Anderson Valley in one day. One big thing a day, done slowly, is the trip people come back from happy. Check State Parks and organiser pages the week you travel — trails, parking, hours, and event details change, and this post will not chase every change. The links above are the pages to re-check.

The Old West Inn is a family-run inn on Main Street in Willits, open since January 1981: 19 western-themed rooms around a quiet courtyard with a gazebo and fountain, Open 24 Hours, check-in 3pm, check-out 11am. Free Wi-Fi and free parking, EV charging for guests at $15 per night (reserve ahead), and the $10-per-person Lumberjacks breakfast voucher described above. Book direct with code bookdirect for $5 off, plus a $5 cash discount per room and night on direct bookings. There is no pool, no fitness centre, and no pets — service animals are welcomed. The Accessible One Bed room is listed in the booking engine alongside all other rooms, with the same detail and booking path.

We are at 1221 S Main St, Willits, CA 95490. Call (707) 459-4201 or email theoldwestinnwillits@gmail.com with your dates and headcount and we will check what is available — or book online through the booking engine on theoldwestinn.com. If you are coming for an event in this post, tell us which one when you book, so we can note it.

Mendocino County rewards the traveller who slows down: one grove, one train, one coast town at a time. Visit Mendocino County's site — visitmendocino.com — is where to start for itineraries, the event calendar, and Harvest Mendocino. This post is our Willits version of that trip, and we will keep adding to it as the seasons change: new events, new groves, new reasons to base yourself here.

If this post helped you plan a trip, the best next step is simple: pick a date, check the event and park pages linked above, and book the night in Willits first. The redwoods and the coast will still be there. The quiet courtyard is the part that books out.