Regardless of where you land, you'll likely be driving through California 128, which takes you right through the Anderson Valley. Stop at the Boonville General Store for the Point Reyes blue cheese salad.

At Elk, 17 miles south of Mendocino, you can wander the black sands of driftwood-filled Greenwood State Beach. There are plenty of places to stay and eat nearby.

The Little River Inn, an impeccably sited lodge above the shoreline south of Mendocino, has a nine-hole golf course and tennis court. It also has all the quirks you might imagine from a fifth-generation family business that has been renting rooms since 1939.

This cafe, billed as “California cuisine with a Southern twang,” opened in 2019. Think barbecued lima beans. Grilled cabbage. Creole mac and cheese. Get there early or expect a line; it doesn’t accept reservations.

There are plenty of spots for seafood, but try Princess Seafood, which opened this year to augment the nearby Princess Seafood Market & Deli. Both Princess locations offer seafood caught by an all-woman crew on a 42-foot boat whose name is ... Princess. Of course.

The Skunk Train, based in Fort Bragg, for decades has offered historic rides through redwood country, following tracks laid by a 19th century lumber company. But now there’s an option: railbikes.

The beach, site of a dump from 1906 to 1967, is full of green, brown and frosty white pebbles that once were glass bottles. Once upon a time, it was a cool secret spot. Though it is not so secret longer, it is a beautiful way to spend an hour.

In Humboldt County, Eureka’s Sequoia Park Zoo has opened a Redwood Sky Walk featuring suspension bridges and elevated walkways for exploring the tall trees.

In Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, about 50 miles north of Eureka, Prairie Creek Trail leads hikers through a grove of implausibly tall old trees. The park’s Elk Prairie, Gold Bluffs and Fern Canyon areas also are popular.

Klamath River Overlook, at the end of Requa Road in Klamath, offers the region’s best and broadest view of the river as it empties into the sea. From that overlook, you can hike a steep trail (one mile down and back) that takes you toward the water.

Starting at the Yurok Country Visitor Center, canoe tours are being offered by natives to give visitors a chance to spend two hours on the Klamath River in a dugout redwood canoe — the same sort of vessel that Yurok members have been navigating for perhaps thousands of years. The tours, which begin and end in Klamath, are led by Yurok guides who share their cultural and natural history.

At the northern end of Klamath — 47 miles shy of the Oregon border — stands the kitschy Trees of Mystery A 49-foot-tall Paul Bunyan looms over the entrance, joined by his blue ox, Babe.