Mendocino Area Directory: Gualala

Pronounced WAH-LAL’-AH, this town, like many on the north coast, has a split personality. Its rough and tumble lumber town roots extend right into the second half of the twentieth century, with many people still making their living in logging. Gualala’s modern side looks California chic, a result of the affluent presence of Sea Ranch and the nearness of urban Santa Rosa.

Evidence of the rough and tumble mill town has become scarce in the last 20 or 30 years. Today it is represented primarily by the homey, old-fashioned atmosphere of the Gualala Hotel, where loggers used to literally climb the walls of the barroom in their spiked calk (pronounced cork) boots.

Gualala’s modern side offers casual sophistication somewhat alien to its origins. Numerous pleasant restaurants offer fine fare, plentiful lodgings offer a broad range of elegance and comfort, and several galleries add refinement and culture, providing an atmosphere far different from the town’s wild west origins. Sufficient services keep most of the locals from having to leave more than once a month. Some folks never leave, and after a bit of time here, you’ll understand why.

It all adds up to a pleasant vacation or holiday town, especially since the natural beauty of the coast provides the perfect setting. As a bonus, Gualala sits in an area known as the “Banana Belt,” mostly protected from fog and icy northwest winds by the protrusion of Point Arena into the Pacific Ocean to the north.

Robert Lorentzen, The Mendocino Coast Glovebox Guide