Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
places. The fine contemporary
restaurant
(lunch mains $12-18, dinner mains $22-38;
8am-9pm)
has a menu for discerning guests; expect everything from duck breast to local
fish tacos. North of the lodge you'll see Sea Ranch's iconic nondenominational
chapel
; it's
on the inland side of Hwy 1, mileage marker 55.66. For those short on time or on a budget,
this is the best reason to pull over in Sea Ranch.
Depending on the season, it can be surprisingly affordable to rent a house in Sea Ranch;
contact
Rams Head Realty
(
www.ramshead-realty.com
),
Sea Ranch Rentals
(
www.searanchrentals.com
), or
Sea Ranch Escape
(
www.searanchescape.com
)
.
Gualala & Anchor Bay
At just 2½ hours north of San Francisco, Gualala - pronounced by most locals as 'Wah-
la
-
la' - is northern Sonoma coast's hub for a weekend getaway as it sits square in the middle
of the 'Banana Belt,' a stretch of coast known for unusually sunny weather. Founded as a
lumber town in the 1860s, the downtown stretches along Hwy 1 with a bustling commer-
cial district that has a great grocery store and some cute, slightly upscale shops.
Just north, quiet Anchor Bay has several inns, a tiny shopping center and, heading north,
a string of secluded, hard-to-find beaches. Both are excellent jumping-off points for ex-
ploring the area.
Sights & Activities
Seven miles north of Anchor Bay, pull off at mile marker 11.41 for
Schooner Gulch
. A
trail into the forest leads down cliffs to a sandy beach with tidepools. Bear right at the fork
in the trail to reach iconic
Bowling Ball Beach
, where low tide reveals rows of big, round
rocks resembling bowling balls. Consult tide tables for Arena Cove. The forecast low tide
must be lower than +1.5ft on the tide chart for the rocks to be visible.
Gualala Arts Center
ARTS CENTER
( 707-884-1138;
www.gualalaarts.org
; 9am-4pm Mon-Fri, noon-4pm Sat & Sun)
Inland along Old State Rd, at the south end of town and beautifully built entirely by volun-
teers, this center hosts changing exhibitions, organizes the
Art in the Redwoods Festival
in late August and has loads of info on local art.
