Pacific Coast Highway (page 3 of 5)

Points 6-10

6. Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve
In tribute to the very trees he harvested, timber tycoon James Armstrong set aside this 750-acre redwood forest in the 1870s, making it one of the first virgin redwood preserves. Today the forest is accessible to all; there's even a trail for visually impaired hikers.

7. Fort Ross State Historic Park
Visitors to this windswept coastal terrace invariably wonder what an Imperial Russian outpost is doing here. The explanation dates back to 1742, when Russian fur-trappers first crossed the Bering Strait, the body of water separating Siberia from Alaska. The trade in sea-otter pelts drew them deep into California, and by 1812, representatives of the Russian-American Fur Company waded ashore to establish a fortified supply depot.

By 1820 hunting had decimated the sea-otter population, and the foggy coastal climate made farming maddeningly difficult. In 1841 the Russians sold the whole kit and kaboodle to John Sutter, who stripped it bare and hauled its livestock and arsenal to the Sacramento Valley.

Today's Fort Ross is largely a reconstruction -- though faithful to the original. Carefully recreated are the weathered redwood stockade, the comparatively lavish commander's headquarters, and a Russian Orthodox chapel crowned by two towers.

8. Salt Point State Park
Giant toadstools, abstract sculptures, delicate honeycombs -- sandstone formations like these, nestled among the headlands of Salt Point State Park, took some 50 million years to create. The park also contains one of California's first underwater preserves, a natural metropolis of anemones, nudibranchs, sea stars, chitons, abalone, and other marine life.

9. Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve
A short hop inland from the stony wonders of Salt Point, this 317-acre forest preserve offers a more delicate -- and seasonal -- variety of beauty. Reclaiming a hillside once devastated by fire, 20-foot-high banks of rhododendrons burst with pink blossoms every spring. Bit by bit, the flowers are yielding to the encroaching woods -- part of natural patterns of plant succession -- but in the meantime they continue to paint a lovely scene.

10. Point Arena
Hugging the coast, the drive takes in some of northern California's most cherished countryside -- verdant pastures, dreamy ocean vistas, and hills of tall grasses. One of the region's few towns is Point Arena. Once a busy logging port, the village was nearly obliterated by the 1906 earthquake. The Point Arena Light Station fared no better, but it was subsequently rebuilt and today is open to the public. Climb its 147 steps to arresting views of sea and coastline, which is so treacherous that 10 ships foundered on these rocks in a single night in 1865.

• • Road Trips

• Yosemite and Beyond
• Bejeweled with cliffs, domes, meadows, lakes, and waterfalls -- the legacy of bygone glaciers -- Yosemite National Park offers visitors a degree of beauty and variety that is truly mesmerizing.
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• Redwood Highway
• This one-of-a-kind highway unfurls amid the wonders of California's northern coast.
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• Nevada 93
• In a land of bewitching beauty, a mix of crinkled mountains and parched valleys contrasts with chilly caverns and a mammoth man-made lake.
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• Magnificent Mt. Rainier
• This gleaming colossus in the heart of Washington presides over miles of deep snowfields, flower-filled meadows, pristine streams, and lush evergreen forest.
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• Mt. Shasta-Cascade Loop
• This drive visits sky-shearing volcanoes, flourishing forests and wetlands that teem with life, and even otherworldly underground chambers.
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• More Great Road Trips!
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