Where to Eat, Stay and Have Fun in Mendocino, California

Why It's Good:

As the only town on the California coast designated a historical landmark, this quaint 1850s cliff-side throwback is populated with delightful local stores, cozy Saltbox B&Bs, award-winning restaurants, semi-deserted beaches and flowers everywhere.

Why It's Green:

This small artsy town of just 800 is the capital—and eco-center—of the US's first county to ban growing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and is also the heart of the Golden State's organic wine industry.

Gorgeous and Green Getaway: Mendocino, CA

From San Diego to Santa Barbara to Big Sur, California's coastal towns can be beautiful, exciting and glitzy, but none is quite as darn adorable as Mendocino. Best known as the spot where Murder, She Wrote's crafty Angela Lansbury cracked some truly odd mysteries in helmet hair and sensible shoes, the town has managed to retain its enchanting New England look and feel. Four hours north of San Francisco, and far enough away to stem the hoards of fair-weather, big-city weekenders, Mendocino is worth the trek along the endlessly winding roads. This treat of a town has a handful of eco-licious and inviting B&Bs, like the 10-room, AAA four-diamond-rated Stevenswood Resort (pictured, top), just a couple of minutes south of town and surrounded on three sides by the redwood-filled 2400-acre Van Damme State Park. The 10 suites all have fireplaces and Tempur-Pedic king-size beds, and their Indigo Eco-Spa features skin and body care products formulated from locally grown organic botanicals and raw ingredients.

During the day, visit the cliff-side Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens; go take a whale-watching trip to see California Grays and Humpbacks; visit some of the many local organic wineries; or gaze at the awesome redwoods in Navarro State Park (pictured, bottom).

For dinner, Ravens at Stamford Inn serves up delicious vegetarian food that’s 99% organic, made from locally harvested products including seaweed to morels. Their Sea Palm Strudel, baked with locally harvested sea palm and Japanese root vegetables in sesame phyllo, and accompanied with a stir-fry of broccoli, shiitake mushroom, bell pepper and cashews, was the first time I've actually liked a vegan dish.—Charles Runnette