Arcata Travel Guide
COMPARE PRICES on all Arcata Hotels
Compare prices and availability on major travel sites with one click
COMPARE PRICES on all Flights to Arcata
Compare prices and availability on major travel sites with one click
From Eureka it's only 7 miles to Arcata, one of my favorite towns on the Northern Coast. Sort of a cross between Mayberry and Berkeley, it has an undeniable small-town flavor -- right down to the bucolic town square -- yet it possesses that intellectual and environmentally conscious esprit de corps so characteristic of university towns (Arcata is the home of Humboldt State University).
There are loads of family-type things to do. On Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings between June and July, Arcata's semi-pro baseball team, the Humboldt Crabs, play at Arcata Ballpark (tel. 707/822-3619), at Ninth and F streets. Also worth a stop: the kid-friendly Humboldt State University Natural History Museum, 1315 G St. (tel. 707/826-4479), which is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm; Tin Can Mailman, at 10th and H streets (tel. 707/822-1307), a used-book store with more than 130,000 titles; Redwood Park (east end of 11th St.), which has an outstanding playground for kids and miles of forested hiking trails; and the Humboldt Brewing Company, 10th and I streets (tel. 707/826-BREW; www.humbrew.com), creators of the heavenly Red Nectar Ale (call for tour information).
Some 40 miles east of Eureka and a few miles north of the town of Willow Creek lies the Hoopa Indian Reservation. In the Hoopa Shopping Center, the Hoopa Tribal Museum (tel. 530/625-4110) archives the culture and history of the native people of Northern California, including their ceremonial regalia, basketry, canoes, and tools. Guided tours of Hoopa Valley's historic sites, including the traditional village of Takimildiñ, are available through the museum by appointment. Hours are Monday through Friday from 8am to noon and 1 to 5pm year-round, and in summer on Saturday from 10am to noon and 1 to 4pm.
