The Mendocino coastline in Northern California is rugged and beautiful, but that means it’s also quite remote.
It can be hard to find a good spot to stay in the Mendocino area for all your adventures, especially if you’re traveling with kids or pets.
I recently visited the Little River Inn on the Mendocino Coast with my wife and three kids.
It’s situated in a beautiful location, has conveniences like on-site dining, and served as a perfect jumping-off point to explore Mendocino, Fort Bragg, and the Anderson Valley wine country.
The Basics
Little River Inn is a historic property located right on Highway One (7901 CA-1, Little River, CA 95456).
As you pull up to the main building of the inn, you look down over the cliffs to the crashing surf of the Pacific below.
Little River Inn has been family-owned for generations. It originated as a stately house on the water, which was initially converted into a cocktail lounge in the early 20th century, and then into a small hotel.
Still in the original family, the Little River Inn has since expanded and been renovated.
The property has multiple buildings in addition to the original main house, providing lots of spots for folks to stay.
Little River Inn prides itself on being extremely family- and dog-friendly. We saw many people there traveling with dogs, and the rooms are set up to make it easy to visit with your furry friend.
Most of the buildings at Little River Inn are fairly small, at two stories. There are big balconies on the front of many rooms, and there’s ample area to walk your dog, complete with bag stations and trash cans.
The location on the cliffs is spectacular, and many of the rooms are situated around a central lawn that leads down to the water. Little River Inn has a private pathway into Van Damme State Park, where you can explore nature and see redwood trees.
Everything in Mendocino County is quite spread out, but it’s only about a six-minute drive from Little River Inn over to downtown Mendocino.
A 30-minute drive south takes you into the excellent Anderson Valley wine country, which is known for its Pinot Noir. Fort Bragg is also a short drive away, with iconic attractions like the Skunk Train and beautiful spots like Glass Beach.
Little River Inn hosted me and my family so we could review and photograph the property. The Bay Area Telegraph paid for incidentals.
The Room
Our room at the Little River Inn was situated on the ground floor of one of the buildings tucked into the far end of the property.
The room was plenty large enough to accommodate our family of five. Two queen beds with comfy mattresses anchored the room, with big cozy chairs facing a gas fireplace and television.
There was also plenty of space for a rollaway bed that Little River Inn provided, which meant there was plenty of room for all of us to sleep comfortably.
Our room included a small sitting area by the door, a refrigerator, an in-room coffee maker, and a bonus sink—although not a full kitchenette or microwave.
The balcony was absolutely stunning. From two rocking chairs, you could look out over a lawn covered in wildflowers and watch the surf on the Pacific Ocean below.
The bathroom was spacious, with a Jacuzzi tub, shower stall, and plenty of counter space.
The tile design is not the most modern, but perfectly functional.
My kids loved bathing in the gigantic tub—a rarity on the Mendocino coast, where water can be very scarce.
Our room was listed as pet-friendly, which means we could have brought our dog, Lance. He’s been having some back trouble, so we chose to leave him at home for this trip, but as a dog owner, I can see how this would make a great spot to bring your pooch.
We stayed at Little River Inn for two nights, which gave us plenty of time to hang out in the room and enjoy the setting. Especially for a larger family, the size of the room, its cleanliness, the large bathroom, and the beautiful balcony made for a very comfortable stay.
The Food
Especially when you’re traveling with kids in a more remote area, it’s extremely helpful to have food options on the property.
There are lots of great places to eat in downtown Mendocino just a short drive away—Luna Trattoria, Frankie’s, and Good Life Café were all excellent spots that we visited.
Sometimes, though, you want to simply walk out of your room and easily be in a spot with good food and drinks. Little River Inn serves that need and adds that convenience with its on-property dining room.
The dining room is located in the main house. It’s about a two-minute walk from most of the rooms.
One of the coolest parts of the dining options at Little River Inn is a lively bar with views out over the water.
During whale season, you can apparently sit at the bar and watch while you have a cocktail. This is the original spot that served as a cocktail lounge and launched Little River Inn’s journey into the world of hospitality.
Apparently, the original proprietor had to convince his mother-in-law that he was building a fancy and upscale lounge rather than a seedy tavern in order to get her to give him use of the house! These days, the bar makes a perfect spot to sit and watch the ocean below.
Lots of locals clearly swing by here to hang out and have a beer or a cocktail, even if they’re not eating at the inn.
Behind the bar is a full dining room. It has large picture windows looking out over the inn’s gardens and grounds.
My wife and I started with cocktails. I tried one that was essentially an Old Fashioned, and my wife had a delightfully pink mule that apparently had hibiscus juice in it to create the color.
Our kids started out with kids’ meals of pasta Bolognese.
Quickly, though, they pivoted to eating our main entrée—a large ribeye steak covered in peppercorn sauce.
I’m pleased to report that I had about two bites of this item before the little ones devoured it!
We also tried the fish and chips, which were crispy and fresh.
Overall, I got the impression that burgers, steak, fish and chips, and other standard American items were the best things to get here.
There are more complicated entrées, but given the waterfront location and casual vibes, these foods felt like the right way to go.
The kids finished the meal with ice cream sundaes.
Again, it’s nice to have lots of dining options nearby in Mendocino itself. But for a casual meal, you could easily walk over—or grab a drink with locals while gazing out over the beauty of the Pacific—it’s good to know Little River Inn has you covered without needing to go off-property.
The Breakfast
Like many inns in Mendocino, Little River Inn offers the ability to order breakfast right to your room. Fill out your preferences on a paper, place it outside your door by about 9:30 PM, and your food will arrive at your room the next morning.
We got a full breakfast on our first morning at the inn. The kids enjoyed eggs and bacon, along with a latke (potato pancake).
My wife and I had a Swedish pancake, complete with a lingonberry purée on the side. The pancake was delicious, and it was neat to see some different cuisine options reflected.
Most places just offer basic American items, but the inclusion of some Scandinavian dishes and items like the latkes made things more interesting.
Each of my kids accompanied their meal with a fresh-squeezed orange juice, nicely served in a mason jar. My wife and I had a big carafe of coffee.
Other Features
Again, the dog-friendliness of Little River Inn is one of its main selling points. We would definitely enjoy coming back and bringing our dog, Lance!
In addition, Little River Inn has an on-site golf course. I’m not a golfer, so I wasn’t able to test or review this, but it’s extremely convenient to the rooms.
There is a small front room at the inn that stocks basics, including local wines and ciders from the Anderson Valley.
There’s also an EV charger with free charging, which I appreciated, as we could charge up our electric minivan for the long drives around the Mendocino area.
The Verdict
Overall, the Little River Inn made a great home base for our trip to Mendocino. It was great to have a larger room and bathroom for our big family, and the balcony was a nice additional feature.
Having a dining room on-property added convenience, and if we had been traveling without kids, we definitely would have stopped into the bar for a drink each night.
Little River Inn feels like an ideal spot for family travel, and is extremely, enthusiastically pet friendly. Some properties merely tolerate pets, but Little River Inn makes them a centerpiece of the experience.
The ability to have breakfast delivered to the room was a nice touch for busy mornings getting the kids out and about. And being able to drive a short distance to see things like the Pygmy Forest–and to head to the beach– was great.
Being larger, Little River Inn doesn’t have the boutique feel of a place like MacCallum house. But again, with more space, bigger rooms, and proximity to both downtown Mendocino (to the extent that a town of 597 people can have a “downtown”!) it made an ideal spot for us.
Really, though, the absolute best thing about Little River Inn is its cliffside location. There’s something magical about hearing the waves crash on the rocks outside your window. And the large balconies make the ideal spot to enjoy it.
On our last night at the inn, we were treated to a spectacular sunset over the Pacific. This is a million-dollar view!
Again, that’s the biggest strength here. Being so close to the beauty of the Mendocino coastline–with immediate access to a state park and a fantastic wine country (plus redwoods) nearby is something special.
If you need a home base to explore Mendocino–especially with a few kids or dogs in tow–Little River Inn is a great choice.
Website: https://www.littleriverinn.com/
