Board the Skunk Train in Fort Bragg -- named for an 1855 fort built to protect residents from hostile natives. Originally intended for logging, the train now carries passengers from this seaport through 40 miles of awe-inspiring scenery to inland Willits and back. Don't miss the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens on 47 acres overlooking the Pacific. At Noyo Harbor, charter a sport-fishing boat or catch a whale-watching cruise. From either Fort Bragg or Mendocino, stroll the headlands looking for seals. And, November through April, look for migrating California gray whales.