Humboldt, town by town

The county seat and largest city on the North Coast, with a Victorian Old Town wrapped around Humboldt Bay. The densest concentration of restaurants in the county — waterfront seafood, an oyster bar on G Street, and most of the county's fine dining.

A university town built around a central plaza, and the most walkable dining district in Humboldt. Student-priced sushi and burritos sit next to co-ops, coffee roasters and a long-running brewery scene.

Southern Humboldt's commercial hub in the Eel River valley, known locally as the Friendly City. Main Street diners, steakhouses and family Mexican restaurants along the Highway 101 corridor.

A preserved Victorian dairy town on the Eel River delta, its whole Main Street a state historic landmark. Small, high-quality and heavy on historic hotel dining rooms and bakeries.

Between Arcata and the Trinidad coast, built along Central Avenue near the county airport. Practical, everyday eating — taquerias, fish-and-chips counters and drive-thru coffee.

One of California's smallest incorporated cities, on bluffs above a working harbor and pier. Seafood with an ocean view is the whole point here, from harbor chowder to fine dining above the bay.

The main stop in southern Humboldt on the old Redwood Highway, and the gateway to the Avenue of the Giants and the Lost Coast. Roadhouse cooking, cafes and bars.

A remote seaside community reached by a long mountain road, the only real trailhead town on the Lost Coast. A handful of places to eat, and you should call ahead.

Inland on the Trinity River at the junction of Highways 299 and 96, self-declared Bigfoot country. Steakhouse, river-town cafes and the last real stop before the Trinity Alps.

A small community just north of Garberville along the South Fork Eel. Local bakeries, delis and a co-op serving the surrounding hills.

On the Avenue of the Giants among the old-growth redwoods. A pizza-and-calzone cafe and a wine-and-oyster bar serving travellers on the scenic route.

Across the Eel River from Scotia on the old highway alignment. Straightforward, unfussy small-town eating.

A tiny town in the Mad River valley east of Arcata, home to a well-known circus school and a casino. Cafes and a brewery taproom.

The northern gateway to Redwood National Park and the Tall Trees Grove. Roadside burgers, crab melts and a deli — the last food for miles.

A pocket community on the Avenue of the Giants deep in the redwoods.

A former company lumber town on the Eel River, still recognisably built around the mill.

At the foot of the 1911 concrete Fernbridge span, on the road out to Ferndale. Known for a long-standing country market and deli.

Dairy country on the lower Eel, historically a creamery town. Small, and worth the detour off 101.

On the Avenue of the Giants, best known for the drive-through tree.

The center of the Hoopa Valley Reservation on the Trinity River, the largest reservation in California.

In the hills above the Lost Coast, on the back road toward Shelter Cove.

A small community between Arcata and the bay's eastern shore.

On Highway 36 just east of Fortuna, at the start of the long road inland.

A stop on the Avenue of the Giants in the heart of Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

On the Trinity River along Highway 299, near the Trinity County line.

A rural valley community inland from McKinleyville, known for its creamery.

On the North Spit across Humboldt Bay from Eureka, site of the historic Samoa Cookhouse — the last surviving lumber-camp cookhouse in the West.

Just south of Trinidad along the coast, near Moonstone Beach and Houda Point.