Even residents can't agree on how to pronounce their town's name. Most of the old timers and locals say "Wah-Lah-Lah". Gualala is the Native American word for "water coming down place". This area is appropriately named because of the Gualala River flows majestically into the pacific ocean creating a wide river mouth and sandbar. The beauty and tranquility of this area has long attracted a wide spectrum of visitors and residents. From this cross section of personalities a cultural scene has emerged, rich in high quality theater, music and art. This local talent can be found in the restaurants, art galleries, gardens and other forms of individual expression.

Is Bowling Ball Beach for real? Oh yes, and it's best viewed at low tide. To see for yourself, Drive just past Iverson Point, park across from Schooner Gulch Road, and take the trail down to the beach. Along the waters edge, you'll find satiny wet sand with dozens of large globular stones, backed by cliffs layered like phyllo pastry. You could see the round protrusions in the cliff faces, which themselves had once been the seafloor.

Point Arena was one of the first lighthouses built on the California coast and definitely one of the prettiest. The 1906 earthquake nearly destroyed the original lighthouse. The rebuilt lighthouse is open daily for tours. Set in one of the most spectacular, yet peaceful surroundings on the northern California coast, the Point Arena tower is the only Pacific West coast lighthouse of significant height (115 feet) that you can climb to the top!

3,000 acres of redwood forests, meadows sweeping to meet dramatic bluffs winding along 10 miles of rugged Northern California Coastline. Relax on a sandy beach, hike the bluff top at sunset, explore tidepools and fields of wildflowers. For the golf enthusiast, The Sea Ranch Golf Links, one of the most challenging 18 championship holes, links style courses west of Scotland awaits you. The Sea Ranch Lodge provides comfortable and spacious accommodations in a spectacular location that provides a quiet but active respite from the stresses of the everyday world.

The Gualala River is a river on the northern coast of California. Most of the river is in Sonoma County, but a portion is in Mendocino County. The 32 mi (51 km) long river's headwaters are high in the Coast Range and it empties into the Pacific Ocean. The last few miles, where the river meets the sea creates the boundary/county line between Sonoma County and Mendocino County. The American settlement of Gualala was first established by the construction of a hotel, saloon and a lumber mill in the 1860s. Logging the local redwood trees became especially profitable after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, when huge amounts of lumber were needed to rebuild the city.

It's smallest "city" in Mendocino County and yet Point Arena has lodging, restaurants, shops, a community library, a campground, schools, the CITYART gallery, two markets with delis, a bakery, medical and dental center, pharmacy, ATM, and the magnificent Art Deco-style Arena Theatre which produces a number of live shows every month including musical groups, stand-up comedy, magic shows, dance and theatrical productions