The Wall Street Journal Loves Humboldt’s Redwoods (and Other Stuff, Too)

Wall street journal redwoods

[Crop of a screenshot of the Wall Street Journal’s story on Humboldt provided by the Eureka-Humboldt Visitors Bureau.]

Press release from the Eureka-Humboldt Visitors Bureau:

When one of the nation’s busiest big city newspapers needed a California break, the Eureka-Humboldt Visitors Bureau stepped in as its guide. The payoff? Coverage in the Wall Street Journal’s travel section this week, starring many Humboldt County attractions and businesses, worth an estimated $200,000 in media placement value.

The Humboldt redwoods, naturally, dominate the Wall Street Journal feature, a three-day road trip from San Francisco to Eureka. The piece leads with an image of the super trees on the Avenue of the Giants, then pays homage to Travels With Charley,” in which John Steinbeck famously enthused about the “ambassadors from another time.”

The bureau worked since the summer with the Journal staff to develop the coverage, including early trip planning, frequent wildfire reports to help better position the timing of publication, and fact checking.

“This story follows the classic Bureau playbook. The redwoods lure people in, but more discoveries surprise and amaze,” said Richard Stenger, associate director of media and marketing for the bureau.

To wit, the bureau steered the Journal to some of Humboldt’s finest draws, some old, like the iconic Benbow Inn and the mysterious Carson Mansion, which “is usually closed to the public, but you can still skulk around the property snapping photos like a cat burglar,” reporter Ryan Haase wrote.

And some new, like the Humboldt Bay Social Club and Humboldt Bay Provisions, “part of a growing wave of stylish businesses, which serves oysters pulled in right from the bay,” continued the main article, posted online Friday and slated for print publication Saturday.

Haase could not resist the call of the wild farther north, dashing up to Redwood National & State Park, then hiking the James Irvine Trail to marvel at Fern Canyon with its “lush, furry walls so otherworldly they’re in a Jurassic Park film.”

Given the amazing Humboldt experience, the peak of the trip, the Journal seemed little enthused about returning on the road through Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin. Better to take an “80-minute hop from the Humboldt County airport, [which] delivers a birds-eye view of all the terrain you just saw at street level.”

The bureau has little interest in taking a laurel break. Days before this story posted, Stenger gripped and grinned with some of Northern California’s finest travel writers at an evening hosted by San Francisco Travel, a longtime bureau partner, where he ran into an old bureau friend, travel writer Bob Cooper, who freelances for major media outlets, including the Journal.

“I started lobbying him with a whole different pitch that I think could land Humboldt on the Journal’s front page,” Stenger enthused.

——————————————————————

ABOUT:

The Eureka-Humboldt Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization for Humboldt County, which includes Redwood National Park and the Avenue of the Giants, home to the world’s tallest trees. Based in Eureka, staff invites everyone to stop by on Thursdays for office karaoke. For more, visit www.VisitRedwoods.com.

The Wall Street Journal is one of the largest daily newspapers in the United States with a circulation of 2.5 million copies, including 1.6 million digital subscriptions. Based in New York City, its staff works very hard and tends to dream about wild places like Humboldt County. For more, visit https://www.wsj.com.

ONLINE STORY:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-quintessential-california-road-only-better-11558701425

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14 Comments
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John
Guest
John
4 years ago

Okay. So, WSJ is talking up the Redwood Coast as a cool place to visit or as a good source of termite resistant lumber? Does anybody reading this news item actually trust Wall Street??? Wall Street financed the Bolshevik Revolution. See: Sutton, Anthony: Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution. But that’s all water under the bridge. Now, a hundred years after the fact, are any of you people living in Redwood country really all that thrilled about WSJ reporters mooching around up there in your neck of the woods?

Dan F
Guest
Dan F
4 years ago
Reply to  John

I for one will wait to see, if anything negative, develops from this story but it should help attract more tourists, hopefully some with LOTS of money to spend!!!!

Central HumCo
Guest
4 years ago
Reply to  Dan F

~there is no money. There is no government. Corporations in the sea of commerce are trespassing on the land. We are occupied by a foreign (to the land juris), enemy. We don’t need no stinkin tourists. That’s why some of us chose to live “Behind the Redwood Curtain” – for privacy.

We are bad at regulating privacy, because we don’t understand privacy.

La Guardia 🍑
Guest
La Guardia 🍑
4 years ago
Reply to  Central HumCo

Dan F is right, the businesses who want income are going to have opportunities to make it…

If you don’t want to be a part, that’s fine

Central HumCo
Guest
4 years ago

~yeah, the profit motive doesn’t float my boat.

I’m just saying that Humboldt can make it just fine w/out tourists. And as Tourism $$$$ points out @2:09, the airline transportation ain’t very hospitable.

La Guardia 🍑
Guest
La Guardia 🍑
4 years ago
Reply to  Central HumCo

Its like they threw in a plug for someone who has a connection with United…

WJ
Guest
WJ
4 years ago

The Bureau shouldn’t have directed the WSJ to locations in Eureka.

Steve Parr
Guest
Steve Parr
4 years ago
Reply to  WJ

Hey. A friend owns the building Provisions is in. I do work on it sometimes (painted the ceiling in there, recently). I don’t mind tourists. Some of those New Yawk City women are hawt.

Central HumCo
Guest
4 years ago
Reply to  Steve Parr

~yuke.

Tourism $$$$
Guest
Tourism $$$$
4 years ago
Reply to  WJ

Eurekas awesome.
Its a city, the only one its size between crescent city and basically ukiah. The only place with services&true public transpo.
People who live in cities are used to cities. People who travel see homeless&addicts everywhere. Try going to europe without being asked for change. If youre truly concerned then get involved with the groups working on stopping SF from sending busloads of homeless here and places like Redding from putting ads on craigslist that say go to humboldt they have extra services&help for homeless. Yes that really happens.
I love going to old town. Eureka has a lot to offer.

The difference is in big cities they push “undesirables” into one area away from tourist zones. Thanks to the idiotic decision to break up the devils playground encampment without having another place for homeless to go, they have scattered throughout town&neighborhoods. Stoooopid.
I look at many of those folks on the streets&think therebut for the grace of creator go I. Count your blessings. Being made to feel uncomfortable shapes us&is important.

The biggest hurdle in tourist activity is having our aiport dominated by United which is a horrible airline. We had to wait for 5 people to volunteer their seats up for 1000buks travel voucher, they literally told us we would not board the plane until 5 volunteered to travel a few days later. That was to LA. The folks going to SF were tourists who were told they wouldnt be able to get them to SF for 3 days. They were pissed&had to rent a car to drive to SF to catch their connecting flight.
Bring ALASKA AIR BACK!!!!
I tell everyone who comes to vist not to fly here, uniteds the worst!!!

guest
Guest
guest
4 years ago

Would be great to get more public restrooms or rest stops for all these tourist, so much toilet paper on the ground and few public restrooms. Every pullout I’ve stopped at in Rockefeller forest always has so much toilet paper & sh*t. So gross… where’s the uproar from the County or environmentalists when you need em.

shak
Guest
shak
4 years ago
Reply to  guest

“Please bring your own poop bags” in every tourist brochure might be helpful. Here’s a few tips that used to work even in Calif before they banned the easy to twist and tie plastic shopping bags. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gj3ocdO4Qk

Jeffersonian
Guest
Jeffersonian
4 years ago

Marcus Lemonis certainly had a much more objective vision of Humboldt when he visited and reported. The difference was that he got around to see the extreme dysfunction this place represents.

Guest
Guest
Guest
4 years ago

They should have tours of the Carson Mansion, a lot of tourists would probably enjoy that.

There are always people snapping pics of it in the summer and during holidays.