Directions to Heartwood Institute

By Car
Garberville is 200 miles north of San Francisco on Hwy. 101. Take the first Garberville exit, continue to the north end of town, bear left over Hwy. 101 (toward Redway). If coming from the north on 101, take first exit and a right at the top of the exit. Make sure that your gas tank is full before leaving Garberville because are no services beyond. Within a few hundred yards turn right onto Alderpoint Road (uphill). Take note of time and mileage counter. Climb uphill and proceed 7 miles (approx. 15 minutes) until passing large green sign showing Alderpoint and Harris ahead. Go one more mile (approx. 2 minutes), and watch carefully for the fork to Harris (immediately after cattle grate, marked by large green sign saying Alderpoint to left and Harris to right); take the right fork. This is Bell Springs Road. Watch carefully for this turn if driving at night or in fog, it’s easy to miss. If you sweep immediately downhill you’ve gone the wrong way – turn around as soon as it’s safe and go the other way.

Continue 8 more miles (approx. 15 minutes) through Harris, and later pass the Harris Store. After passing a white maintenance building on your right, you’ll pass through a series of blind curves on a narrow stretch of road. Look for a green sign and then a wooden sign on a telephone pole to your right indicating that Island Mountain Road is coming up on your left. At the wooden sign, turn left uphill – the turn comes right in the midst of a curve. (If you come to a dirt road without having turned left, take next sharp left, uphill.) Continue four miles along dirt road until coming downhill to the first fork in the road. Bear left onto Lauffer Road, which takes you to Heartwood. A short time later you’ll see Heartwood’s parking lot to your right. Park in the parking lot, walk down the stairs, and turn right to the Welcome Center.

Driving time from Garberville to Heartwood is about one hour, the last 4 miles of which is on gravel roads. Please drive carefully – you can often see long stretches of the road winding ahead, and it’s helpful to look and see if anyone is coming. Stay on your side of the curves and pull over when you safely can to let local traffic pass. Please plan to arrive at Heartwood during daylight hours.

By Bus
Bus service through Amtrak and Greyhound is available to various locations within a few hours of Heartwood. Amtrak offers the only service to Garberville. Please call 1-800-872-7245 for more information. Transportation from your debarkation point to Heartwood Institute is available. The fee is $40-$100. Please call the Enrollment office at least 7 days in advance to arrange a pickup.

By Air
The Eureka/Arcata Airport is the nearest airport with commercial service by United and Horizon Airlines. Rental cars are also available. Please call our Enrollment Office at least 7 days before arrival to arrange transportation from the airport to Heartwood. The fee for this pickup is $100.

Transportation fees are payable in cash to your driver at the time of pickup.