Fort Ross Historic State Park
My wife and I spent took a Friday off and spent it shopping in Healdsburg, CA then driving to the coast to Fort Ross, CA. We stayed in a little inn called Fort Ross Lodge in nearby Jenner, CA http://fortrosslodge.com).
Just to get off topic a little, Fort Ross Lodge was pretty nice. The sunset view of coast was spectacular (the first picture of the set is from our room). The gentlemen at the desk, Tom, who is also the owner, greeted us with a warm plate of to die for double, chocolate chip cookies. (Yes, I took two) We upgraded our room, which was up on "The Hill". It overlooked the Pacific Ocean, and we had a great view of the sunset. Our room also had a Jacuzzi tub and hot sauna. I've never been in a sauna before, but it wasn't too bad. Our room was nice, and the bed was comfy. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
Even more off topic, to get to Fort Ross Lodge, you have to drive on Highway 1. For most parts, it's not too bad. There are a couple of parts, however, the roads are very close to high cliffs without any railings. Not sure I'd want to drive that at night in a rainstorm. Make sure to pull over for faster drivers, who for the life of me, I don't understand as I was not driving that slow.
Ok, back on topic, we visited Fort Ross Historic State Park http://www.fortross.org/info.htm). We've never been there and decided to go on a whim. Honestly, I thought it would only take about an hour to see the fort (i.e. walk around the fort and take pictures), but I was pleasantly surprised. When you get there, you are greeted with a very well done Visitor's Center. You walk through a hall that describes the history of the Fort from the beginning to the end. There are, of course, remnants from the past as well as nicely done replicas. There's also a large viewing center with a continuous movie on the Fort's history.
There are also guided tours, but we didn't have time for them. We just wandered off by ourselves. The Fort is rather large and well maintained. There's a chapel, main house, armory, and living quarters. It's all woodwork. We were there on a very nice day, and it was nice and cool in the buildings.
The thing I really liked about the park is the access to the coast. We only had about 1.5 hours to spend there, but I think we could have easily spent double that time going down to the shore. We did manage to have a quick sandwich on a bench overlooking the Pacific Ocean, which was very nice. If you have time and don't mind driving on Highway 1, stop and take a look at Fort Ross Historic State Park.
Read MoreJust to get off topic a little, Fort Ross Lodge was pretty nice. The sunset view of coast was spectacular (the first picture of the set is from our room). The gentlemen at the desk, Tom, who is also the owner, greeted us with a warm plate of to die for double, chocolate chip cookies. (Yes, I took two) We upgraded our room, which was up on "The Hill". It overlooked the Pacific Ocean, and we had a great view of the sunset. Our room also had a Jacuzzi tub and hot sauna. I've never been in a sauna before, but it wasn't too bad. Our room was nice, and the bed was comfy. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
Even more off topic, to get to Fort Ross Lodge, you have to drive on Highway 1. For most parts, it's not too bad. There are a couple of parts, however, the roads are very close to high cliffs without any railings. Not sure I'd want to drive that at night in a rainstorm. Make sure to pull over for faster drivers, who for the life of me, I don't understand as I was not driving that slow.
Ok, back on topic, we visited Fort Ross Historic State Park http://www.fortross.org/info.htm). We've never been there and decided to go on a whim. Honestly, I thought it would only take about an hour to see the fort (i.e. walk around the fort and take pictures), but I was pleasantly surprised. When you get there, you are greeted with a very well done Visitor's Center. You walk through a hall that describes the history of the Fort from the beginning to the end. There are, of course, remnants from the past as well as nicely done replicas. There's also a large viewing center with a continuous movie on the Fort's history.
There are also guided tours, but we didn't have time for them. We just wandered off by ourselves. The Fort is rather large and well maintained. There's a chapel, main house, armory, and living quarters. It's all woodwork. We were there on a very nice day, and it was nice and cool in the buildings.
The thing I really liked about the park is the access to the coast. We only had about 1.5 hours to spend there, but I think we could have easily spent double that time going down to the shore. We did manage to have a quick sandwich on a bench overlooking the Pacific Ocean, which was very nice. If you have time and don't mind driving on Highway 1, stop and take a look at Fort Ross Historic State Park.
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