General Information About Mendocino, California

Mendocino, California is a small town located in North Western California.  It has a total population of 894 people and the land area of the town is approximately 2.3 square miles.

Despite its small size, the town's scenic location on a headland surrounded by the Pacific Ocean has made it extremely popular as an artist colony and with vacationers.

The vast majority of the town’s income comes from tourism. It is home to a large number of hotels and bed and breakfasts. It has a downtown commercial district facing the ocean, with a number of art galleries, retail shops, lodging and restaurants.

Tourist Attractions include the following:

Mendocino Headlands State Park:  347 acres of undeveloped seaside bluffs and islets surrounding the town of Mendocino, two beautiful and unique beaches, and the Big River Unit which stretches for eight miles along both banks of the nearby Big River.

A wide variety of museums and historical buildings.  Most of the museums offer information about the history or the biology of the area.

Mendocino Music Festival:  a classically based but musically diverse series of concerts that is held annually each summer in a huge circus-type performance tent on the town's Main Street in the Mendocino Headlands State Park.

Mendocino Film Festival:  Because the area is a haven for artists, the festival honors them with a special "artist category", in addition to the documentary, feature and short film categories.  It is held each fall.

The town’s newspaper is the “Mendo Mercury.”  There is also a monthly magazine devoted to the arts called “That”