The North Coast of California is located on the Pacific coast in between the San Francisco Bay and the Oregon border and includes Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino counties.
This list of North Coast, California museums, defined for this context as institutions (in nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing can include non-profit and university art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.
To use the sortable tables: click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.
See also: List of museums in California.
| Name | Image | Town/City | County | Type | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historic house | Contains Ranch House, an example of early California living | ||||
| Anderson Valley Historical Society Museum | Local history | website | |||
| Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center | Natural history | Exhibits about the natural history and importance of the marsh and the operations of the waste water treatment plant | |||
| Lighthouse | Lighthouse and museum | ||||
| Blue Lake Museum | Humboldt | Local history | Photos and artifacts of Blue Lake pioneers, local Native American, logging and railroad history | ||
| Blue Ox Millworks and Historic Park | Humboldt | Local history | website, historic park with working craftsmen's areas and a current-day mill and woodworking operation | ||
| Clarke Historical Museum | Humboldt | Local history | Formerly the Clarke Memorial Museum, history of Humboldt County with emphasis on the late 19th century, includes furniture, glassware, clothing and Native American wing | ||
| Del Norte County Historical Society Museum | Del Norte | Local history | website, includes Native American baskets, Tolowa and Yurok artifacts, musical instruments, old radio, phonographic and photographic equipment, needlework, logging and mining tools and equipment, fashions and furniture | ||
| Discovery Museum of Eureka | Humboldt | Children's | non-profit children's museum website | ||
| Lake | Local history | website, operated by the Lake County Historical Society | |||
| Ferndale | Humboldt | Historic house | website, 1866 house museum and events venue with original furnishings, gardens and historic outbuildings[1] [2] [3] | ||
| Humboldt | Local history | Period rooms, antiques, Native American artifacts,[4] dollhouses, switchboards, telephones, farm equipment, working Bosch-Omori seismograph, working Blacksmith shop, mid-century barbershop, dairy equipment, equestrian gear, art by local notable artists, and wainwright shop.[5] Research collections include family histories, photographs, newspapers, cemetery and city records, and books | |||
| Humboldt | Art | Operated by Humboldt State University | |||
| Mendocino | Local history | Visitor and interpretive center for Mendocino Headlands State Park | |||
| Humboldt | Fort | History of the mid 19th century fort, interactions between European Americans and Native Americans, logging equipment and local narrow gauge railroad history of the region | |||
| Fortuna Depot Museum | Humboldt | Local history | website, history of the Eel River Valley, includes memorabilia from railroad, farm and war eras, including large locks, spark plugs, and barbed wire displays, a doll collection and many types of fishing gear and lures | ||
| Mendocino | Multiple | Art, history, and anthropology museum focusing on the lifeworks of artist Grace Carpenter Hudson (1865–1937) and her ethnologist husband, Dr. John W. Hudson (1857–1936) | |||
| Guest House Museum | Mendocino | Local history | website, operated by the Fort Bragg – Mendocino Coast Historical Society | ||
| Hoopa Tribal Museum | Humboldt | Native American | |||
| HSU Art Galleries | Humboldt | Art | website, includes the Reese Bullen Gallery in the Humboldt State University Art Building, the Native American Arts Gallery in the Behavioral & Social Science Building and the First Street Gallery | ||
| Humboldt | Maritime | Madaket historic ship, displays[6] | |||
| Humboldt | Natural history | Exhibits include the redwood forest, plant evolution, area fossils, seashells, insects, marine life | |||
| Mendocino | Historic house | website, interprets Mendocino's logging and shipping industries | |||
| Lake | Local history | County history, Pomo basket and artifacts collection, gems and minerals, Victorian parlor, hunting and camping, courthouse history | |||
| Lake | Local history | Includes local pioneer and Native American artifacts, rocks and minerals | |||
| Mendocino County Museum | Mendocino | Local history | website | ||
| Humboldt | Art | Arts and artists of the Pacific Northwest, particularly Morris Graves | |||
| Phillips House Museum | Humboldt | Historic house | website, operated by the Historical Sites Society of Arcata, shows the daily life of an Arcata resident between 1854 and 1932 | ||
| Mendocino | Maritime | Lighthouse open for tours | |||
| Samoa Cookhouse Museum | Humboldt | Industry | website, area logging activities, part of the Samoa Cookhouse historic restaurant | ||
| Scotia Logging Museum | Humboldt | Industry | website, museum about the logging company town once owned by Pacific Lumber Company | ||
| Sea Glass Museum | Mendocino | Local History | website, history of Fort Bragg's sea glass beaches, sea glass displays and photos, privately owned | ||
| Lake | Historic house | Mid-19th century house, oldest building in the county, operated by the Stone House Historical Society[7] | |||
| Stone Lagoon Schoolhouse Museum | Humboldt | Local history | Operated by the Society for California Archaeology, exhibits of Native American artifacts, local history[8] | ||
| Del Norte | Native American | Roadside attraction that includes the End of the Trail Museum, which features Native American art, crafts and tools | |||
| Triangle Tattoo & Museum | Mendocino | Art | website, display of tattoo artifacts from around the world | ||
| Trinidad Museum | Humboldt | Local history | website | ||
| Willow Creek – China Flat Museum | Humboldt | Local history | website, local and Native American history, special Bigfoot collection | ||
| Wooden Sculpture Garden of Romano Gabriel | Humboldt | Art | website, folk art sculpture garden, operated by the Eureka Heritage Society | ||