Eureka, a Hot Spot for ‘Revenge Travel’, Says Bay Area News, But, Don’t Forget the Rest of Humboldt
Get ready, Humboldt folks, a Bay Area news show, CBS KPIX, says that Eureka is a likely destination in “revenge travel”–a term for the idea that tourism will explode as folks cooped up during the pandemic get a chance to spread their wings after they feel safe with vaccinations and as hotels and vacation spots open back up.
“Domestically, small outdoor spots like Eureka, Merced, Bend, Oregon, Traverse City, Michigan and Bozeman, Montana are considered hot spots,” the KPIX show states in the video embedded above.
Eureka is positioning itself to take advantage of people cautiously venturing not too far from home. “The City of Eureka is a great vacation destination that offers plenty of fresh air, socially distanced entertainment, and easy access to outdoor adventures and relaxation,” the Visit Eureka website proclaims.
An article in the Eureka Times Standard from February of this year said that the Visit Eureka website “registered a hike of 54 percent in year-over-year traffic. Overall, the site received 112.5 percent more visits and page views went up 162 percent when compared to 2019.” The article points out, “Other findings show Eureka has performed better than the state and national averages for visitation, with only a 16 percent dip in demand compared to the nationwide decrease of 35.7 percent and California’s mean fall estimated between 38.9 and 43 percent.”
So where do you expect the tourists to hang out? Just in Eureka? What? With all this beautiful countryside just waiting to be explored?
Mattole River Estuary. [Photo from the Mattole Restoration Council]
- One Log House and Wonderland Nursery
- Richardson Grove State Park
- The historic Benbow Inn
- The Lost Coast
- The Avenue of the Giants
- Women’s Federation Grove–see if you can find an albino redwood
- Founders Grove
- Rockerfeller Grove
- Wildcat/Mattole road
- The Victorian Village of Ferndale
Here’s a much longer tour that we would take our favorite visitors to: Click here.
A new website has been launched for the rural attractions of Southern Humboldt, DiscoverSouthernHumboldt.com.
But what are your favorite spots to take folks?
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
Come to Eureka!!!! See our famous drug addicted homeless do battle on Second Street with knives and broken off pieces of pallet!! Photograph the Carson Mansion and return to your car to find the window broken and your suitcase stolen!! Buy weed in one of our 37 dispensaries and revel in the joy of violating federal law!! Try your hand at the “gauntlet of death”, drive around near H and 6th and see if you can pass through unscathed!!! Join the courthouse protesters demonstrating against this week’s outrage which happened 2500 miles away but which still riles up the indignant!!
Pike, I’m the last person to say there isn’t crime in Humboldt but…I’ve lived here for 61 years. I go to town and shop. I go to the parks and hike. I go to tourist attractions and…not once have I been a victim of a crime. I have however, seen breathtaking views while having tears of joy stream down my face, I’ve been enchanted with adorable kids in the park, visited with friendly locals, loved our festivals, eaten amazing food both in our restaurants and from locally available treats. I’ve been to multiple places in my relatively long life and only Ireland and the coast of Maine came close to the beauty and touristing experience found here.
Whoa… I’ve had my purse stolen, my truck broken into, been hit from the rear by people not stopping at stop lights twice. Interrupted a fist fight between young people twice, ducked out from between a guy with a gun threatening a guy with a knife, had my antenna snapped off ( but not just me the whole line of twenty cars parked on the street), walked in on a burgler at my house and seen not a few car accidents. I’ve defended a park walking bridge from someone who wanted to drive on it and had my water system vandalized by a water thief. And I never much thought myself a crime victim. Maybe it is more that I actually lived in Eureka for twenty years.
Besides, while I prefer Humboldt Co too, the cherry trees blooming in Japan and Michigan, which also has spectacular fall color (looked out on a sea of orange, red and yellow as far as the eye could see in every direction), the ocean in both Hawaii and Florida (which has more wildlife per cubic inch than any other state), Italy and Greece are magnificent. The Rockies are spectacular and the Smokies beautiful. My only complaint about other places is that their trees seem a little, well, ungenerous in height. Kind of makes me deprived.
Ya, if you read some of the 1 star yelp reviews of the nice tourist orientated hotels in old town they read like this posting. Tales of surviving Eurethra…
I read the review of someone from out of the area who used google earth to decide that the boat ramp under Samoa bridge would be a great spot to go fishing and camp with his boat at while visiting in-laws. When reading it all I could think was “oh no, don’t do it!” It was what I would call a incredibly accurate depiction of the zombie apocalypse after dark. But after talking to locals he found a better spot and said it was very enjoyable. Allot just comes down to location.
Eurethra! That’s HILARIOUS!🤣😂🤣👍
Yelp once sent us a dire warning about our biz on Mattole Rd. Turned out they were all about the road condition!
Along the lines of, ” We just put 20,000 miles of wear and tear on our Mercedes driving the 60 miles on Mattole Rd.”
Dang Auntie, I’ve lived in Eureka for over 30 years and I’ve experienced just a tiny fraction of the issues you describe.
Who are you hanging with?
Worked down town for most of it.
Me also. For 35 years
Move to SoHum then?
I have to admit that if you expand victim of a crime to witnessing–I have seen several other people being threatened or the victims of domestic violence. I just haven’t myself been a victim.
I thought I remember reading here about something of yours stolen when you went to your credit union on Wabash, I think. Did this not happen?
https://kymkemp.com/2019/04/25/the-thief-who-took-my-registration-do-you-recognize-him/
You’re right. I forgot about that. Thank you!
You do not live in Eureka. You isolate yourself on a mountain somewhere and bang the drum for “cannabis tourism ” daily. You do not have to deal with the crime, the mentally ill homeless who could pop off any minute, the constant speeding and other reckless driving on residential streets, the fascist virus regime. Perched in your green ivory tower, the view is always beneficial- to YOU.
I’m certainly lucky to live where I live but…the point I was making is that I’ve spent much more time in Humboldt including in Eureka (my husband has worked there for about a dozen years) than any tourist likely would and…(with correct jogging of my memory) I realize that my registration and some business cards were taken once. The chances of a tourist having a bad experience are fairly small.
I do report on crime and have a fairly good sense of the issues out there, but the average tourist is probably better off than they are in SF or many other popular destinations.
I can remember a fair number of stories about tourists having their cars broken into when they were at the beach or hiking. And some stories about drug dealing, fights and such at motels too.
I looked up “crime rate” on Google. Seems like San Francisco was rate as 1.7 times the national average but Eureka was rated as 1.9 times the average. So I’m afraid Eureka wins.
You are correct about San Francisco. I looked it up and I had conflated Oakland with SF. And, yes, there is crime here…I do report on it every day. We have a lot of messes to clean up. BUT, most tourists do not experience those issues. Most people think this is a lovely area worth visiting–and they are right.
Kym, we’re lucky to have you!
Humboldt ain’t perfect but it’s perfectly tourable no matter the economy.
So much more than Eutweeka, that’s for sure!
IDK. Seems a lot of Humboldt Co crime Is involved with pot grows.
Sounds like the crimes you described happened in town, where there are no pot farms. But ya fuck it let’s blame all of eurekas crime on pot grows. SMH!
Didn’t do that but it would be a defensible idea.
I live in Eureka and love it here. I walk all over town. I love to walk through all the neighborhoods and see all the amazing gardens and architecture. I minimize my time on Broadway, but every city has a part of town like that.
Johnny Eureka-nailed it!
I like your attitude Kym, ya don’t look a day over 40
Oh don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful here. I’ve been to a lot of places in the US, Canada, Western Europe…HumCo ranks right up there. To that end, I love it.
But good lord, this place is filled with the dirtiest, scuzziest people I ever met. The crime, the drugs, the litter, the total disrespect for themselves and others demonstrated by many here…
That’s why I say: “the most beautiful place I’ve ever been, filled with the ugliest people I ever met”.
I will say, even though I hate the dope culture, I like SoHum and I have never had a bad experience down there. I like to explore the mountain roads and even when I drive down a dead end road no one has ever made an issue of it. Most people wave at me.
Not the case in Eureka.
Anyone who lives here and doesn’t see that hellhole for what it is has their head in the fucking sand.
“Anyone who lives here and doesn’t see that hellhole for what it is has their head in the fucking sand.”
Amen!
Your first comment bout made me fall off my chair. Chuck U calling it Eurethra was icing on the cake.
I admit it’s gotten much worse in the last decade or so. But it really depends on your idea of hell. Going south to miles of McMansion subdivisions behind the endless strip malls with pseudo chichi designer attactions in between comes closer to hell for me.
Hopscotch over the human waste piles around the Co Op did run into the limits of my tolerance though and I don’t go that way anymore.
Why you all live here if you hate it so much? By all means GTFO! Why stay where you’re miserable? Just to spread misery? I’ve traveled extensively and I love it here. Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.
Yup! Exactly Rollin!
Good on you Kym! I moved from helLA on July 4, 2011 (almost a decade now!!!) to Eureka, where I have lived in a lovely Victorian (built in 1880), with a baby forest of mature rhodo “trees” since arrival…
I love walking down the hill to Old Town, where yeah, there are a few sad houseless folks scattered among the eateries, galleries, and tourist-ie shops. I also love biking the lovely Bay trail (already 6.4 miles long), with views of marinas, shore birds, and other bikers and hikers. I may be lucky, but I have not been stabbed, shot, or robbed. Finally, I have met tourists from across the US, and around the world, including a lot of wonderfully plucky trimmigrants, without whom this county would be in serious economic crisis.
In sum, best decision of my long life (can’t believe you’re 61; must be doing something right!) was to move to Eureka, Humboldt County, Cali!
“Down the hill” to Old Town? Unless you live on the outskirts or maybe at the bottom of a ravine like Buhner or Campton, are there any hills in Eureka?
Uh have you heard of the streets called Harris and Henderson? Those are both hills.
Youre obviously out to prove your point, youve decided its one way and thats it. Thats your choice.
Respect others for their choices too.
Everyone I know who has traveled says there are,unfortunately, a lot of folks on the streets begging frim tourists, many on drugs. Even my elderly mom who took cruises pre covid said almost every port has homeless asking for change. The drug epidemic is worldwide.
Hollywood is notorious for tourist crime/homeless, yet people still flock there.
Maybe we ought to put the drug users to work cleaning streets,last few times i went for walk by eureka library there were 2 guys in the street literally sweeping it with brooms,completely zoned out in their meth induced activity.
Find an area in our country not having these issues. In fact when i look at other small town news from other states our area looks pretty damn good.
Part of whats good here is enough of us who truly believe in the value of a strong community.
Lets be honest with tourists that, like most places, we have crime too so dont leave things in your car of value, etc.
And to at least try to adapt to our pace, slow down and be patient on our roads and in our businesses! Please! Take that extra time to check out your surroundings, and enjoy. If you need to be fast paced this may not be the spot for you.
Respect our local area by staying on trails and heeding warnings about dangerous beaches, and whatever you do DO NOT trust GPS when driving here, especially on back roads. Many roads listed on gps are now closed, easy to get lost/stuck.
When I ride my bike back “up the hill” (G St to 14th) to get home, at age 66, believe me Aunti, I feel the diff!
Yep, there’s bigger hills, but it’s all uphill coming up from the bay.
I think there is so much that is lovely about Eureka and surroundings. I feel very lucky to live here.
I’m from the bay area and about 6 months ago I took my 3 grandsons up 101 to eureka on a vacation stopping at different places along the way.When we were in eureka we had a great time, the boys loved going to the beach and.we went shopping had no problems the whole time we were there and we stayed a week. Sure.theres homeless,and crime but I love it there,I go there often. If you think eureka is bad, come down and check out ,Antioch, ca. If you do,you’ll go home realizing, eureka isnt as bad as you think,
I’m sure most tourists will discover the beauty of the area just like you and your grandsons did. I hope you come back and try the Skywalk, go birding at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, explore Trinidad, Check out the Blue Ox Millworks, ride in a horse and carriage through Old Town and let me know what your favorite parts were. Maybe you’ll discover a hidden gem I’ve missed.
Good for you for saying that Kym! We thing of retiring away from here, and then go out on a weekend drive and fall in love all over again with our area.
I know. It’s not perfect but where else can you find such variety and beauty?
Pike, your problems sound way deeper than the negative socio-economic aspects of our community.
Come to Eureka, once you see it you will never come back!
I like Eureka.
You forgot hope to take car home without having someone breaking in
No one has broken into my car in 35 years
Haha nailed it!!
You should write for trip advisor
Thank you for saying this out loud!!!!
Truth. I drive up to Eureka every 90 days. It has gone dowhill.
Indeed! I grew up in Eureka. I left when I was 18 years old to go to college. I have family there and visited a few times I went back a couple years ago and it’s really bad. I would recommend it to retirees who have money and can maybe buy a house in say Trinidad or McKinleyville and it’s a great place to visit but it is a rundown sleepy county it always has been. That is why I left. Something you should know if relocate to Eureka. Eureka is always fairly windy and Lots of fog and rain but maybe not so much anymore because there’s a drought North California but there are a lot of grey days just an FYI
Ok, that’s dramatic. While there’s definitely some spots that are sketchy, BUT that is a thing that you’ll run into anywhere, especially right now. I was just up there recently and I was in love with the area. (I made the mistake of staying at the Red Roof Inn in Arcata… YIKES 😬) So much so that I am planning on moving to the area next month from San Luis Obispo, which has similar problems, due to lack of foresight.
As long as the city comes through with affordable housing (you’re going to need to house workers to keep up with demand that tourists bring), and keep vacation rentals under control, you’ll see things improve. The city and county need to do it right, though.
While I was there I noticed that people who live there either love it or hate it. Those who hate it seem to have not lived many other places or have been there most thier lives. Migrants seem to love it.
It’s better than most places I’ve been to in California. I can’t wait to call Humboldt home.
Its beautiful and its ugly. Better to visit than to live there. just read the anger from both sides in these comments, the place is in serious trouble. Do yourself a favor and check the crime stats and read the sherrifs arrest reports. The writter of this article has obviously lost touch with reality. Even lying about her own experience.
That crack’s me up to see that reply I’m in mck. I understand what you mean. But we could use the rich travelers money back in our community
There is crime all over the world, Eureka didn’t invent the broken capitalist economic system that our local homeless are victims of. Blame the system not the victims.
I was literally thinking the same as I read through!
Does Eureka ACTUALLY have 37 dispensaries?
Go hiking through those woods you must be crazyThey must have never watched murder Mountain well they were quarantined All the missing people in humble you might as well go to Oakland and go touring around the town Plenty more dispensaries and parties and clubs beaches and etc. You might not even have a car waiting for you when you go back to your parking spot More missing people there than the population they have
How much did the Sequoia Park Animal Prison pay to get mentioned in this article? Nothing like seeing captive wild animals kept in inhumane conditions. A visit to Eureka wouldn’t be complete without contributing to the exploitation and imprisonment of animals for human profit. Never forget Bill, the chimp, kept in solitary confinement. He had a chance to go to an accredited chimpanzee sanctuary in Florida but the zoo couldn’t let their prized money-maker go live in peace with other chimpanzees. Let’s talk about the bears for a minute. First the parent bears were kept in small cages in the front. When the two cubs were born, the zoo had a “visiting veterinarian” euthanize them so the zoo could hand raise the cubs. These cubs were put in an “improved” exhibit which was basically a cement hole in the ground. The monkeys and gibbons were supposed to have “improved” exhibits over a decade ago. Instead, the City of Eureka and zoo have decided building a tree-walk for humans is much more important.
I don’t allow pay for mention in my articles. I just genuinely enjoy the zoo. Is it perfect, no. But is it lovely and getting lovelier, yes.
Good listing of old zoo history.
I wouldn’t call Bill a “prized money maker” as the Zoo was free for virtually all his life.
That’s true.
Read “Thought to Exist in the Wild” by Crescent City’s Derrick Jensen. An eye-opener, to say the least.
Here is the link: http://www.derrickjensen.org/thought-to-exist-in-the-wild/
OMG Mara, I had no idea. So awful.
Can we keep you in a douchebag exhibit? Just for shits and giggles?
Look kids there’s an armchair ecologist!
That’s sad. The animals don’t look happy or cared for as much as they should. I didn’t know that . Thanks for info.
Never forget the murdered bears at the Sequoia Park Zoo.
Never forget Bill and Ziggy who were kept in inhumane exhibits at the Sequoia Park Zoo until they died. This isn’t how animals should be treated.
Move and put yourself out of your misery. Same for the other guy. Mr doom and gloom, just move away.
apparently that poster has PTSD
Mara, you sang this endless song more than a decade ago. It was past its sell-by date then, and it’s growing cobwebs now. The zoo today is a center for conservation and will be an essential part of the upcoming condor release program. Please turn off your wayback machine and join us in 2021.
We have a remote cabin in TrinCo on AirBnb that for the most part of the last 5 years it has been listed has been essentially dead. A good year was 2-3 bookings. We got that in one day last week, we have been slammed. Had to shut it down so I can get work done on the ranch as hotelier and chef is just supposed to be my side hustle for the wife’s fun money.
That’s fascinating! I wonder if other local AirBnb hosts are having a similar experience.
I don’t know, this year has been weird and wild. We started seeing articles about this revenge travel thing and that people were looking for somewhere they could drive to and in nature and that all the places around national parks were getting booked solid for summer and this was back in Jan-Feb so we made sure to get our add up early…also because of the dry warm weather because usually we don’t know when the snow will melt off the road and it opens. What we got were a bunch of corporations looking for their workers that were contracted by the USFS for August fire remediation to book for the entire summer. Because cancelling a booking is a huge pain in the ass and they fine and penalize you we pulled the add down every time a corp was saying they would take it. I guess the USFS doesn’t have their shit together and were jerking these people around with schedules and even contracts so by May we just gave up and opened it back up and WHAM! Once USFS gets their shit together everything is going to be booked.
I was going to rent one for a month while I looked for permanent housing and work, but they’re all rented out!
I feel like I’m living in a version of an old Ziggy cartoon,
“You are now entering Humboldt County. Please don’t make a habit of it.”
RNSP, Patrick’s Point, Trinity River
Love this place.
Merced ! wth Bobby
They’re going to shelter cove not eureka .
I’m going to put a warning sign on the shelter cove road . Travel at your own risk , pot holes that rip your front end off , crazy hillbillies going 100 mph, on the wrong side of the road . Don’t leave you car , on the side of the road , it will be beat to shit , and the local s don’t like out of townies. In shelter cove
Asshole visitors go home
Really?
After not visiting for about 50 years I’ve started going out to SC a couple times each summer.
Love the place.
I’ve seen both the awesome pics of the wildlife, scenery, and the posted Bad News Stories here at RHBB.
Didn’t we just see an article about Fortuna and kids at the beach?
Plus the unsavory comments about it.
You couldn’t pay me to move to San Fran.
I love the wildlife and the Nature but many of the people need help.
I’d move to SF in a heartbeat just to get out of Fortuna!
My first thought when I saw “revenge tourism” was that Eureka is a location where you tell your enemies to go for a vacation.
LOL
So did I!
Lol good one
Eureka kinda grows on you. Maybe like fugus but still… I remember flying to the San Francisco airport, walking from the little plane section to the main terminals and noticing going from being surrounded with backpacks, blue jeans and jogging shoes to being surrounded with business suits, wheeled suit cases and heels. And getting a few “what are you doing here” side eye looks.
Then the reverse process coming back. Feeling more relaxed as I came closer. Eureka is like a pair of old shoes. Scuffed, worn ,maybe coming apart at the seams but really comfortable.
I agree
lol, funny comments. You are all correct it is that way here. Positive or negative we all share one thing in common. We would not wanna live anywhere else.
As Willie would say 👍
True
SO wrong!
Eureka is a great city. I wish the haters would just leave instead of complaining, though I suspect many of them live in other parts of the county and probably don’t care much for cities in general.
MERCED? LOL. Yosemite, sure, but anyone who mistakenly decides to stay in Merced will regret that decision.
Merced is legitimately gross, just like the rest of the central and lower valley. Frenso- horrible. Bakersfield- disgusting. The air gets so dirty you can literally chew the grit. Most of the people are absolutely terrible. No respect for anything unless it’s theirs. I currently live in SLO county and this is their close by place. Morro Strand beach constantly has trash everywhere because they’re too dang lazy to walk to a trashcan. They destroy vacation rentals, hotel rooms. I’ve worked in travel most my life and I never seen this kind of disrespectful behavior before.
Hopefully the NorCal peeps are still cool. I lived in Mendocino and Sierra county before and people where mostly awesome. In SLO, it’s the opposite.
Truly heartbreaking to see so many reactionary nimby types talking about the most vulnerable members of our community in such dehumanizing ways. As the California housing crisis pushes more and more people who live in chronic poverty to the exurbs and beyond, yeah, the reality is communities like Eureka will have to address large unhoused populations, and that will only be accomplished through community and infrastructure building that actually addresses people’s needs.
Very true I like your prospective outlook on this
E=U=R=E=K=A — you can smell it before you see it — thank you LP and SIMPSON mills
There is crime everywhere, because…people, I guess. I lived in Chicago, in the city, for 26 years, had a wonderful career and life, but the congestion, traffic, noise and yes, crime, finally tipped the balance between the vibrant city advantages and everything else. I love living in SoHum. Is there crime, both here and up north? Sure, snd it’s always wise to pay attention to your surroundings. I had a store in Garberville for 12 years, and there were moments I wanted to bang my head against the nearest hard surface. But I’ve lived here full time for 23 beautiful years, and unlike Chicago, I no longer live with burglar bars on my kitchen window and door, I don’t walk home with my keys between my fingers, and I love looking at the night sky. That’s my perspective.
And we are lucky to have you here!
That’s right 🤠
I have a family trip planned in Eureka. What areas do you recommend to visit and areas you strongly suggest to avoid?
If you love nature, walk the Hikshari trail. Be prepared for less than perfect human behavior (But know that until recently my 90-year-old aunt walked the trail solo) and you will love it. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/eureka-koa-to-marine-garden-club-grove
Sequoia Park is lovely for nature fans.
See the Carson Mansion and the Pink Lady across the street.
Blue Ox Millworks is cool for the history and work with their hands types.
Shop Old Town
Avoid Broadway…sadly.
Hillsdale St was a nice one for a row of Victorian houses, followed by a walk down E st south and up G st used to be a favorite of mine. It is like a stroll through history because Eureka was/is a boom and bust town where houses were spectacularly built during booms but the busts were so low no one could afford to modernized them out of existence later.
The McKay tract is a good walk as is the Headwaters forest. Then a drive up Kneeland road to ranch country is interesting, taking Greenwood Hts Rd coming back down- just for the thrill of it. The Arcata Marsh is a great walk. Kayaking on the bay is fun if they are still there. The Madaket boat tour is fun if you’re down in old town anyway. The drive across the Samoa Bridge to visit the Marina then further to see the Coast Guard station and the North Jetty is a great place to see the Bay and the ocean in action.
Eureka! I Stepped In It!
Bisbee, Arizona “#1 small town in America is busier than ANY of these cities mentioned, 😆