Albion California on North Coast

Albion on the northern California coast in Mendocino County is a small community of farms, ranches and vacation properties such as B&B's and camping featuring beautiful beaches and some of the most splendid coastal views in all of California. Located approx. 15 miles south of Fort Bragg, the area's rural charm makes it ideal for a coastal escape where you seek to get away from chain stores and crowds. Retaining the charm of its early foundations, visitors are swept by the romance of this sometimes fog-shrouded destination. Shown is a scene from a misty evening in Albion along Coast Highway 1.

Overlooking the Albion River, the last wooden bridge along Coast Highway, Albion River Bridge, was constructed during World War II and was made from salvaged wood. It is but one of the treasures that visitors enjoy and see with new eyes as the first settlers once did when the town was founded in 1853 by English sea captain William Richardson. Surrounded by redwood forests, the seaman built a saw mill and made a living selling some of the finest (and world's oldest) lumber for growing California. The forests were thick and little thought was given to the age of the giants, many that are protected today through legislation and a reverence for the knowledge of the rarity of them.

Albion is located along the winding highway between other small towns such as Elk and Mendocino. It offers a few B&B hotels, homes, general stores selling everything from food to staples, a post office and little commerce beyond tourism and limited fishing enterprises. Unique to this region are the in-house restaurants of the B&B's. Known for hiring talented chefs, the focus on regional and international wines provide very gourmet dining, far from what you would expect in places that seem so remote from the big cities such as San Francisco only 150 miles away and a three hour drive by car.

Albion is a drive market destination, though you may pass through and consider it no more (or less) than a road stop. An ideal trip would be a flight into San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and drive along the coast to Mendocino. Because the area is so sparsely populated and there are so few accommodations, the widest selection of hotels will be in Mendocino. Albion is located on the ocean side of Coast Highway 1, six miles south of the historic village of Mendocino.

Mendocino is the regional center for shopping, dining, museums, hotels and things to do. Unique art galleries, boutiques, state parks, beaches, hiking, bicycling, canoeing, kayaking, horseback riding, golf and tennis are some activities and things to do. There are also concerts and other performing arts events and special festivals throughout the year.

In addition to the city parks, there's also the Navaro River Redwoods State Park in Albion is part of the California State Parks system in the North Coast Region.