Northern California’s famous Wine Country encompasses Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. California state Route 128 traverses all of them, from the eastern border of Napa to the Mendocino Coast on the Pacific Ocean. Here, state Route 128 meets state Route 1 at the edge of the continent, and a decision must be made.
A right turn will take you north along Mendocino’s well-known coast, populated by elegant coastal inns and the historic town of Mendocino itself with plentiful shops and restaurants, then north to Fort Bragg and its working Noyo Harbor, home to fishing boats and outfitters. The left turn dips down through a bit of forest, then takes you along Mendocino County’s lesser-known south coast to the small, quirky, under-the-radar towns of Elk, Point Arena, and Gualala.
