Westport California
This oceanfront vacation rental home, with public beach access nearby, was built around 1872 and has been carefully maintained to preserve its character and spirit.
The House
There is no front desk, no key card, no corridor of identical doors. There is a redwood-shingled house on a bluff, a wood stove laid ready, and the sea three windows wide. What follows is simply a walk through it.
Our Story
The Westport House has stood above this stretch of the Lost Coast for more than a hundred years, gathering fog and salt in equal measure. Little has changed inside its weathered redwood walls — and that is rather the point.
Pine-panelled rooms, a brass bedstead, worn plank floors warmed by afternoon light. Beyond the windows, the headlands fall away to the Pacific. We keep the house much as we found it, for guests who measure a stay in months rather than nights.
First Floor
The heart of the house. A cast-iron cookstove still anchors one end; a caned rocker waits by the round oak table. Plank ceilings, worn fir floors, and the kind of afternoon light that asks you to slow down and stay a while.
First Floor
A speckled "Home Comfort" range from another century stands beside a pine work table with its original tin-lined drawers. Cook as they did a hundred years ago, or simply admire it — the kettle is always within reach. For everyday ease, a modern gas range and refrigerator sit quietly alongside.
First Floor
A small wood stove, a window seat, and a door set with old stained glass that throws colour across the floor at the right hour. A two-man crosscut saw hangs above — a nod to the timber coast this village was built on.
First Floor · The Alcove
Off the living room, a snug alcove of warm redwood panelling holds a day bed and an octagonal window that frames the boughs outside, a small writing desk tucked beneath it. Quiet, and entirely its own.
First Floor
A cast-iron clawfoot tub sits below a painting of the surf, white beadboard and aged brass fittings all around. The sink tucks into a warm redwood nook, its little mirror and soft towels close at hand.
Upstairs
Up under the eaves, a brass bedstead sits beneath knotty pine and a dormer that frames the cypress. An arched plank door, a swing-arm lamp, and the hush of a house that has done this for generations.
Upstairs
A white iron bedstead with cobalt glass knobs sits beneath the sloped, whitewashed ceiling, a skylight overhead and a window into the trees. Redwood walls, a painted dresser, and a wool rug underfoot keep the room simple and bright.
The Deck
The wraparound deck steps down to the lawn and the cliff fence, with nothing between you and the swell but salt air and a hundred feet of weathered headland.
The Coast
The Pacific breaks against the rocks for an awe-inspiring view — huge layers of sea mist whirling around rocky islands, the swell rolling in off the open ocean.
Some twenty minutes north of Fort Bragg, and a stroll away from miles of secluded beaches along the rocky shoreline, the village keeps an easygoing, comfortable atmosphere that has changed little in a century.
Life in Westport
A rustic town of a few dozen homes on the Mendocino Coast, strung along Highway 1 where the land falls away to the Pacific.
A rustic hamlet on the Mendocino Coast about 18 miles north of Fort Bragg, Westport is one of the last vestiges of civilization before State 1 turns inland … At the end of a winding, often cliff-hugging drive up the highway from Fort Bragg, Westport greets you with two dozen homes, one lounge and hotel, and a tiny market.
In the Village
Westport is a small, rustic town known for its charm and its handful of unique local spots. Here are a few to keep in mind, right along Highway 1.
A local favorite. Grab a tasty sandwich, pick up groceries, supplies, and ice, and meet a few friendly locals.
Enjoy dinner or a drink in the pub, just a short walk from the house.
At the end of Abalone Street by the Westport Community Center (look for the greenhouse).
Other Resources
The Westport Village Society is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing the area’s environment since 1992, and a great source of information for residents and visitors alike. They also publish the local newspaper, the Westport Wave.
Finding the House
Westport sits on Highway 1, the Shoreline Highway, about a 20-minute drive from Fort Bragg. Follow the coast road up through the village, past the hotel, turn left at the old Westport store, and the house stands alone on the ocean side, with nothing beyond it but the headland and the Pacific.
This place is easier to find with a map than with words, so we’ve included the one we give to our guests. If you have trouble finding the house, just let us know, and we’ll help.
Ways to spend a day
Public Beach Access
The house sits adjacent to the Westport Headlands, nine acres of oceanfront open to all. From the bluff and its overlook, a stairway leads down to Eddie White Beach, with the waves breaking over Northwest Rock just offshore.
About the HeadlandsThe House
Wake to the Pacific breaking against the headlands, framed by century-old windows.
Weathered redwood, brass fittings, and pine floors worn smooth by a hundred winters.
Built for slow living. Taken by the month, with a thirty-day minimum, never the night.
The quiet village of Westport, on California's remote and roadless Lost Coast.
The Gallery
Monthly Stays
The house is let by the month, for those who like to settle in and stay a while. Write to us with the dates you have in mind, and we'll tell you what's open.
Additional guests by arrangement.
Inquire About a StayRates are a guide and vary by length of stay. Everything is arranged directly with William & Julie.
The Particulars
Waves break over Northwest Rock in view of the bedrooms, the kitchen, the living room, and the redwood decks. Beyond the view, here is what you'll find inside.
Contact
Write or call — we answer every note ourselves. Tell us a little about when you'd like to come and how long you'd like to stay.
William & Julie Brazill
37002 Omega Dr, Westport, CA 95488
Mail: P.O. Box 1439, Mendocino, CA 95460
Westport, Mendocino County, California