About Ferndale

Ferndale is a city in Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 1,371 at the 2010 census, down from 1,382 at the 2000 census. The city contains dozens of well-preserved Victorian storefronts and homes. Ferndale is the northern gateway to California's Lost Coast and the city, which is sited on the edge of a wide plain near the mouth of the Eel River, is also located near the extensive preserves of Coast Redwood forests.

Before American settlement, Ferndale was a glade of giant ferns, surrounded by Alder, Willow, Sitka Spruce, Douglas fir, Coast Redwood, swampy land and windswept prairies. The area was populated by the southern Wiyot people, centered along the Eel River where they caught Lamprey eels, Salmon and Sturgeon in iris leaf fish nets, collected shellfish along the river and at its mouth, while cultivating only a California species of tobacco until settlement by Willard Allard, Seth Louis Shaw and his brother Stephen W. Shaw in the summer of 1852.

Ferndale is located at 40°34.6′N 124°15.8′W. Its location south of US 101, is very close to the mouth of the Eel River as it enters the Pacific Ocean. By car, Ferndale is 265 miles (426 km) north of San Francisco and just 12 miles (19 km) south of Eureka. California State Route 211is the major road connecting the city with US 101. Directly to the south of Ferndale is the Lost Coast region, whose geology and terrain has made it very difficult to establish routes through the area. It has thus made that area only accessible by land via small county mountain roads, such as Mattole Road, running from Ferndale south to Petrolia .

Ferndale's climate is moderated by being close to the Pacific Ocean and in the lee of the Wildcat Hills. Winter temperatures rarely go below freezing and summer days are rarely over 80 °F (27 °C). Ferndale receives most of its nearly 50 inches (130 cm) of rain from November to May, with lesser amounts in the summer months. Local microclimates are varied and support tropical palm trees and Sitka spruce, including a mature Sitka forest in Russ Park, and the over 150 feet (46 m) tall spruce lighted every year for Christmas. Morning fogs are common year round.