National Geographic Adventure: "Where to Live and Play Now" September 2008

Arcata, California - The Green Address

Spend enough time in bike-friendly Arcata, on Cali’s foggy northern coast, and you’ll develop Popeye thighs like the locals in this über-liberal community, where recycling is religion and the Green Party rules. The riding selection is as broad as the virgin trees in nearby Redwood National Park, from the gentle new 5.5-mile Hammond Coast trail to the surprisingly technical dirt in Community Forest, a Central Park–size preserve.

Population: 16,888

Bike Magazine's: "Funky Town Builds a Freaky Good Trail" March 2009

And don't miss Vernon Felton's explorations of 14 miles of sublime new singletrack in Humbolt County, California.

Fifty years ago, the King Range Mountains belonged to grisly lumberjacks. Then hippies discovered the beautiful and remote mountains of California’s “Lost Coast,” injecting their own countercultural flavor into Humboldt County’s pot pie. Now, mountain bikers are planting their own sort of seed here, building the 14-mile-long Paradise Royale, a sublime stretch of singletrack tucked into one of the weirdest and most beautiful places in America.  It just might be the country’s best new trail.

Outside Magazine: "Top 40 College Towns, Outdoor U"  September 2003

HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY - Arcata, California
LOCAL COLOR Known both affectionately and derisively as "Sixties by the Sea," Arcata (pop. 16,500) sits on the edge of Northern California's Humboldt Bay, the state's second-largest natural harbor. The 575-acre Arcata Community Forest and Redwood Park has ten miles of hiking and biking trails, but all the unprotected areas in the mountains east of town mean that the lumber industry remains a vital, if controversial, part of the local economy.
WORD ON THE QUAD Humboldt State continues to be the largest employer in this town of 17,000, and Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants, is—for the next 15 minutes—the school's most famous graduate. Its programs in environmental engineering and alternative technologies have drawn national attention for their fuel-cell research, and so has the school's proximity to great Pacific-swell surfing and hiking on the Lost Coast Trail.  EXTRA CREDIT Downtown's grassy, flowery central plaza is a virtual theme park of impromptu performance art and music, with lots of community events, like the annual Kinetic Sculpture Race of people-powered vehicles and the crowded weekly farmers market.

Paddler Magazine: "The Nation's Best Paddeling Colleges" September 1998

Humboldt State University    ARCATA, CALIFORNIA:  Set among towering redwoods, lush mountains, raging rivers, placid lagoons and the Pacific Ocean, Humboldt State University (HSU) is a school for all types of paddlers. Within an hour's drive students can sea kayak, paddle whitewater, take a canoe across a lagoon in Redwood National Park, or go for a screaming ride in the surf. And Humboldt State is rated as one of Money Magazine's Best Buy Universities, so you won't have eat rice and beans to have gas money for the next paddling trip.

As sure as students are attracted to HSU for its academic programs and paddling opportunities, they are attracted to the hip atmosphere of Arcata. This medium-size town has great restaurants, shops, cultural activities and more Birkenstocks than average. Arcata is a haven for nature lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, and those who are tuned in and turned on. Several paddling-oriented businesses also nest in Arcata, including Yakima, Kokatat, Wing Inflatables and several whitewater outfitters. Many students pick up extra work as river guides come summer.

Climbing Magazine: "Surf, Sand, and Stone Beachside Bliss in Northern California"  December 2006

BIGFOOT COUNTRY
Pounding surf, drenching rains, primordial forests, monster fog, stonker limestone, and V-gradeless boulder problems where the landings shift as much as six feet per day — welcome to Humboldt County, a climbers’ eden in far Northern California.