Return to main articleOff-Season Beach Bargains
Sea Ranch, California
What It's Like: The collection of unpainted wood houses tucked into the sea grass and dunes above the churning Pacific offers a quiet and romantic exploration of the glorious Redwood Coast. It's not even very cold: winter temperatures are in the upper fifties. What to Do: Stroll along the cliffs and through the misty redwood forest. Down on the beach, there's a lunatic soundtrack of laughing gulls and barking sea lions; starfish and urchins pose in tidal pools; cartoony brown pelicans fly by in formation; and gray whales can often be spotted migrating north from February to April. Don't miss a hike up to the Sea Ranch Chapel, an architecturally whimsical (and moving) shout-out to sixties' pantheistic spirituality. Where to Stay and Dine: Stay (and eat) in the Sea Ranch Lodge (off-season ocean-view rooms from $169), where the only guest room without an ocean view offers a private hot tub instead, or take advantage of an off-season third-night-free special at the lodge's vacation home rentals, Sea Ranch Escape.
