

Hands Down
There’s something about clothing and objects designed by a singular imagination and made by an actual person’s hands. This pair of Humboldt shops rounds up quirky and beautiful things with personality and soul, like the people who made them. The Bodega H.A. Pearson, the vivacious owner of The Bodega, is known for her super soft,…
Grand Dame
Joan Schirle leaves her shoes at the door of the classroom and travels across the airy, cool studio in a pair of black sweatpants. Her MFA students are settled along the east wall. The sun shines on their backs through the tall windows of the 100-year-old building. Schirle situates herself in the center of the…
Moto Tours
Motorcycling through the towering redwood groves of Humboldt County is a trip like no other on earth. “We have the majestic trees, the mountains, the rivers and the coastline. And, a relaxed pace of life here that’s hard to find anywhere else,” says Vince Campbell, president of the United Bikers of Northern California, a nonprofit…
The Pink Lady
Perched daintily on the corner across from the Carson Mansion is the Pink Lady, a classic Queen Anne Victorian built as a wedding gift from William Carson to his eldest son Milton. (202 M St, Eureka) The Lady feels like the dark green, iron-gated mansion’s flirtatious kid sister, surrounded by a white wooden fence with…
Perfect Spring Trips
Margaret Atwood wrote, “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Spring in Humboldt County gives you plenty of opportunities to do just that. The air is warm(ish) and everything is green and lush. The daylight hours are dramatically longer, so you can explore all day and still have…
Sweet Eats
Don’t wait until after dinner for your dessert — head into Humboldt Sweets (614 Main St., Ferndale) for breakfast. The cinnamon rolls ($5) and massive caramel pecan cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven are a hot mess in the best possible way ($6). You might also see for yourself just how naughty the cream cheese…
Surf & Turf
Why choose just one? Here are a couple of places to get something from land and something from the sea. Double D Steak & Seafood Every town has an old, by-gone restaurant that makes locals misty and hungry recalling it. In Fortuna, that place is the un-fussy, family-run steak and pasta joint Parlato’s. But right…
The Palace Saloon
With its red and white classic two-story Victorian exterior, its 40-foot bar, original woodwork and trophy-antlered walls, the Palace Saloon has been a community institution since 1890. Back in the day, local merchants, cattlemen, dairymen and townsfolk, all made the Palace their go-to for news, gossip, drinks and good company. These days, most folks stop…
Mood Indigo
We like to keep it casual in Humboldt. Denim in all shades is playing a major role in the fashion picture this spring, making the clothes we already love to wear officially stylish. One of our favorite stops is Indigo Denim Bar in Garberville. Owner Annie Bignon started out with her children’s clothing store Li’l…






