Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Samoa Peninsula
Grassy dunes and windswept beaches extend along the half-mile-wide, 7-mile long Samoa
Peninsula, Humboldt Bay's western boundary. Stretches of it are spectacular, particularly
the dunes, which are part of a 34-mile-long dune system - the largest in Northern Califor-
nia - and the wildlife viewing is excellent. The shoreline road (Hwy 255) is a backdoor
route between Arcata and Eureka.
At the peninsula's south end,
Samoa Dunes Recreation Area
( sunrise-sunset)
is
good for picnicking and fishing. For wildlife, head to
Mad River Slough & Dunes
; from
Arcata, take Samoa Blvd west for 3 miles, then turn right at Young St, the Manila turn-off.
Park at the community center lot, from where a trail passes mudflats, salt marsh and tidal
channels. There are over 200 species of birds: migrating waterfowl in spring and fall,
songbirds in spring and summer, shorebirds in fall and winter, and waders year-round.
These undisturbed dunes reach heights of over 80ft. Because of the environment's fra-
gility, access is by guided tour only.
Friends of the Dunes
(
www.friendsofthedunes.org
)
leads free guided walks; register via email through the website and check online for depar-
ture locations and information.
The
lunch place on the peninsula is the
Samoa Cookhouse
( 707-442-1659;
www.samoacookhouse.net
; 908 Vance Ave; breakfast $12, lunch $13, dinner $16; 7am-3pm &
5-8pm; )
, the last surviving lumber camp cookhouse in the West, where you can shovel
down all-you-can-eat family meals at long red-checkered tables. Kids eat for half-price.
The cookhouse is five minutes northwest of Eureka, across the Samoa Bridge; follow the
signs. From Arcata, take Samoa Blvd (Hwy 255).
Arcata
The North Coast's most progressive town, Arcata surrounds a tidy central square that fills
with college students, campers, transients and tourists. Sure, it occasionally reeks of
patchouli and its politics lean far left, but its earnest embrace of sustainability has fostered
some of the most progressive civic action in America. Here, garbage trucks run on biodies-
el, recycling gets picked up by tandem bicycle, wastewater gets filtered clean in marsh-
lands and almost every street has a bike lane.
