Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg is a city in Mendocino County on the North Coast of California.

Get in

By car

There are only three main roads into Fort Bragg: Highway 1 north and south and Highway 20 to the east.

By bus

Mendocino Transit Authority, 241 Plant Road, Ukiah, CA, 95482, [phone] or [phone], MTA.

By boat

The Noyo River leads to one of the very few harbors between San Francisco and Eureka.

By bicycle

Fort Bragg is on the Coast Bicycle Route.

Get around

• 5 BraggAbout: Local bus service by Mendocino Transit Authority.
• Dial-A-Ride: Local bus service from curb to curb by Mendocino Transit Authority, 190 East Spruce Street, [phone]. More convenient, but more expensive too.
• 🌍 Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 200 E Chestnut St (inside Sport Chrysler Jeep Dodge), ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. Mo-Fr 8AM-5PM. (updated Mar 2019)

See

• 🌍 Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, 18220 N Highway 1, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 9AM–5PM. Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens is one of only a handful of public gardens with ocean frontage. These 47 acres encompass manicured gardens, fern-ringed ponds, intimate pocket gardens, coastal pine forests, and wildflower-strewn bluffs at ocean’s edge. The mild maritime climate of the Mendocino Coast offers ideal growing conditions for rhododendrons, heaths and heathers, dahlias, heritage roses, succulents, conifers, and many other plants. $15. (updated Apr 2017)

Wildlife

Whale watching is a popular activity in Fort Bragg. There are also lots of seals that live on the coast. Note: Public coast access is limited until ARCADIS finishes the mill site cleanup

• 🌍 Glass Beach. A well known site in Fort Bragg. It is the site of the old town dump and the beach is covered in old pieces of colored glass that have been made smooth by the waves. It's not even a beach and there isn't much glass, it's very overrated.  

Do

• Guest House Museum, 343 North Main St, ☎ [phone]. Artifacts and pictures telling the history of the forest products industry on the Mendocino Coast. 
• The Skunk Train, 100 West Laurel St, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. The California Western Railroad runs between Fort Bragg and Willits. So called because it originally ran on gasoline engines with the corresponding odor of long-chain hydrocarbons. Old #45, a steam engine, often runs on summer weekends. There is a day trip to North Spur daily.  

Buy

• 🌍 Carol Hall's Hot Pepper Jelly Company, 330 North Main St, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Tue-Sun 11AM-5PM, Closed Mon. Locally-made jams, jellies, spreads and sauces. 
• 🌍 Pippi's Longstockings, 123 East Laurel St, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Mon-Sat 10AM-6PM, Sun 10AM-4PM. Specialty socks, hats & bags. 
• Racines Art and Office Supplies, 330 North Main St, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. 
• 🌍 Roundman's Smokehouse, 412 North Main St, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Mon-Sat 9AM-5:30PM, Sun 9AM-4PM. Family-operated gourmet butcher shop. 
• Understuff!, 310 North Franklin St, ☎ [phone]. Lingerie. 

Eat

• Egghead's Restaurant, 326 North Main St, ☎ [phone]. Omelettes, crepes, sandwiches and burgers, all with a Wizard of Oz theme. 
• Laurel Deli and Desserts, 401 North Main St, ☎ [phone]. Breakfast and lunch in the Depot Building. 
• Mendo Bistro, 301 North Main St, ☎ [phone]. An affordable dining choice. 
• Rendezvous Inn & Restaurant, 647 North Main St, toll-free: [phone]. Focuses on Country French cuisine. Rated #1 for food in Mendocino County by the 2006-2009 (tied in 2009) Zagat surveys of San Francisco Bay Area restaurants. Warm, redwood-paneled dining room and superb food and service. Described as "unpretentious, yet sophisticated" by Sunset Magazine. Six cozy inn rooms. Dinner chef cooks and serves breakfast for inn guests. Pets welcome in cottage at no additional fee. 
• Silver's At The Wharf, 32260 North Harbor Dr, ☎ [phone]. Great seafood restaurant featuring the views of the harbor at the mouth of Noyo River and the breakwater leading to the open sea. Recommended. 

Drink

• Headlands Coffeehouse, 120 East Laurel St, ☎ [phone]. Coffee and live music. 
• Maria's Kitchen, 120 South Main St, ☎ [phone]. Espresso and restaurant. 
• North Coast Brewing Company, 455 North Main St, ☎ [phone]. A pioneer in the craft beer movement, serving various ales, stouts and IPAs. Featuring a taproom with full dinner menu. 
• Silver's At The Wharf, 32260 North Harbor Dr, ☎ [phone]. Great seafood restaurant featuring the views of the harbor at the mouth of Noyo River and the breakwater leading to the open sea. Recommended. 

Sleep

• Best Western Vista Manor Lodge, 1100 North Main St, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• Colombi Motel, 647 East Oak St, ☎ [phone], [phone]. 
• Holiday Inn Express, 250 Highway 20, ☎ [phone]. 
• Rendezvous Inn & Restaurant, 647 North Main St, toll-free: [phone]. Cozy rooms with private baths in an historic turn-of-the-century Bed and Breakfast. Rated #1 for food in Mendocino County by the 2007 and 2006 Zagat Surveys of San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants. 

Stay safe

Fort Bragg is a relatively safe city. Just be aware and take normal precautions as you would in any urban area. Dial 9-1-1 to contact a dispatcher for an emergency.

• Fort Bragg Police Department, 250 Cypress Street, ☎ [phone] (dispatch). 
• Mendocino Coast District Hospital, 700 River Drive., ☎ [phone]. 
• Fort Bragg Volunteer Fire Department, 141 North Main Street., ☎ [phone]. 
• Fort Bragg Advocate-News, 450 North Franklin Street., ☎ [phone]. 
• Fort Bragg Cyclery, 221 North Main Street, [phone].
• Rob's Classic 76, 225 North Main Street, [phone]. Only automobile repair open on Sunday.

Go next

• Santa Rosa Bus service is available: MTA #65 CC Rider.

Routes through Fort Bragg

Eureka ← Garberville ← merges with ←	N  S	→ Mendocino → San Francisco
END ←	W  E	→ Willits → Yuba City