NorCal’s “Cream City” is a Charming 1800s Victorian Village with a Portuguese Heritage

Ferndale, California

Nobody really plans a trip to Ferndale. You stumble on it when you’re headed somewhere else, then spend the next three days poking through antique stores, watching cheese being made, and wondering why more people don’t know about this place.

Here are some of our favorite parts of this NorCal gem.

A gorgeous Victorian village

Ferndale got its start in the 1850s when dairy farms took root in the rich Eel River Valley. The town grew so rich from butter that folks dubbed it “Cream City.”

These dairy farmers built what’s now called the “Butterfat Palaces,” a beautiful collection of Victorian buildings.

You can see different styles like Queen Anne and Eastlake with detailed woodwork, bay windows, and colorful paint jobs.

They’re all along Main Street, making Ferndale a living museum on the National Register of Historic Places. Many are now B&Bs where you can stay and experience the wealthy lifestyle butter money created.

There’s an art sculpture race

Ferndale is where the Kinetic Grand Championship ends, a 50-mile race with human-powered art sculptures held every Memorial Day weekend.

Metal sculptor Hobart Brown started it in 1969 as a quick dash down Main Street, but it’s grown into a three-day race covering 42 miles.

Racers drive their strange contraptions through sand dunes, across Humboldt Bay, and down Table Bluff’s steep 7% grade before reaching Ferndale.

You can visit the prehistoric canyon from Jurassic Park nearby

From Ferndale, you can easily reach Fern Canyon, which was in ‘Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World’ (1997). It’s just 30 minutes north in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, with 50-foot walls covered in seven kinds of ferns, some dating back 325 million years.

Home Creek carved this narrow gorge, creating a cool, moist climate that’s much different from areas around it. In summer (May 15-September 15), you need a free timed-entry permit to drive there, or you can hike the 9-mile James Irvine Trail without a permit.

The town theater has been running for over 100 years

Ferndale’s theater sits in a 1920 Art Deco building and is the oldest continuously running theater in Humboldt County. This cozy venue fits exactly 277 people and still has its original orchestra pit and projection equipment from the early 1900s.

They put on six main shows each year, plus a summer film series showing movies that were filmed in Ferndale. In 2023, they screened both ‘Outbreak’ and ‘The Majestic’ during a special event celebrating the town’s movie history.

You’ll find sea captains buried in the hillside cemetery

The Ferndale Cemetery has many graves of sea captains and shipwreck victims from the dangerous Humboldt coast. Started in 1868, it sits on a steep hill with amazing views all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

You can find over 75 sea-related graves from as far back as the 1850s, with old stones telling stories of local disasters. It’s one of California’s most photographed historic cemeteries and was featured in Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot’ TV show.

The 6-acre cemetery is just two blocks from Main Street and offers a peaceful walk through history.

Steampunk fans gather here for a Victorian-meets-sci-fi festival

Each year, Ferndale hosts a Steampunk Festival that mixes Victorian style with futuristic technology. Over 2,500 people from all over the West Coast come to learn new skills at 22 different workshops, like how to make gears and work with leather.

The highlight is Saturday night’s Steampunk Ball in the 123-year-old Portuguese Hall, where professional teachers lead everyone in old-time dancing.

Local shops decorate their storefronts with brass fixtures and strange mechanical items, competing for the $500 ‘Best Decorated’ prize given each year.

These old buildings don’t fall down during earthquakes

Ferndale’s buildings have survived many big earthquakes, including the massive 1992 Cape Mendocino quake that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale. They stay standing because of special building techniques, including flexible redwood frames that bend instead of break during shaking.

After the 1992 quake, engineers found that only 8 of the 200+ Victorian buildings had structural damage, even though the town was just 35 miles from where the quake started.

At the Ring family hardware store on Main Street, you can see the original earthquake recording next to photos showing how little damage the historic district had.

Portuguese dairy traditions are still celebrated here

Ferndale keeps strong Portuguese traditions alive from the Azorean dairy farmers who settled here.

The yearly Holy Ghost Festival in May includes a parade with queens carrying special crowns, a tradition going back to the first celebration in 1912.

You can try real Portuguese sweet bread at Humboldt Sweets Bakery, made using a 150-year-old recipe brought from the Azores Islands.

The free community meal serves traditional sopas (beef soup with mint and bread) to over 1,000 people, continuing a custom started by Ferndale’s founding families in the 1870s.

California’s oldest county fair happens right here

Ferndale hosts the Humboldt County Fair, California’s oldest running county fair since 1896.

The fairgrounds have a half-mile horse racing track where races have been held yearly since 1901, making it Northern California’s oldest active track.

The 65-acre site includes the original Victorian grandstand built in 1905 and eight exhibition halls showing prize dairy cattle and farm products. This August event brings in 60,000 visitors during its 10-day run, adding $3.5 million to the local economy.

Secret tunnels run under the main street

Ferndale has a network of hidden tunnels connecting several Main Street buildings, built during Prohibition. These passages stretch about 400 feet total and connect six historic buildings including the Victorian Inn and Hart Theatre.

They once housed secret bars and gambling operations with hidden exits to the alley behind Main Street. Today’s business owners have kept sections of the tunnels open for history tours, which you can join during the yearly Victorian Days celebration each June.

You can taste award-winning cheeses made nearby

Ferndale is at the center of the Humboldt Cheese Trail with small local cheesemakers creating prize-winning varieties. Eight nearby farms offer tours and tastings of 37 different cheese types made from cow, goat, and sheep milk within 15 miles of town.

The local cheese makers specialize in European-style aged cheeses, using the coastal climate that’s similar to traditional cheese regions.

Loleta Cheese Factory, started in 1982 just 7 miles east of Ferndale, makes 34 varieties and offers daily tastings at their hilltop location with great views.