I wasn’t expecting to book a room at the Seabird Lodge in Fort Bragg, but after reading review after review of each hotel in the Fort Bragg area, I made a quick reservation for a family reunion trip.

For over three decades, my family has been traveling yearly each summer to MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg for a week of camping. This year, with a new dog, we decided to stay in a hotel while the rest of the family camped—and visited camp each day. Since we’ve never camped with our dog before, and knowing there are lots of raccoons around campsites at night, I didn’t want to spend the entire trip sleepless with a barking dog.

One of the major selling points of Seabird Lodge is that the motel is pet-friendly and allows dogs. Another favorite pet-friendly accommodation in Fort Bragg is the Shorelines Cottages, but we found they were booked through September when we tried to book for July.

Checking In At Seabird Lodge Fort Bragg

We had an easy drive from Sacramento to Fort Bragg, making quick stops with the dog after reaching Williams, Clearlake, Willits, and then finally arriving at Seabird Lodge in Fort Bragg. Overall, the drive only takes about four hours without stops.

After exiting Interstate 5 and turning onto State Hwy 20, the Northview Dog Park in Williams is a quick, easy stop to hit the bathroom for both dog and owner—along with a Shell station available for gas.

Check-in at Seabird Lodge was fast, and they gave us two towels for use at the pool. A continental breakfast is also provided by Seabird Lodge, with order slips presented at check-in.

The location of Seabird Lodge is perfect, sitting slightly north of Noyo Harbor, with easy access to the rest of Fort Bragg and a short drive to area highlights like Mendocino, Caspar Beach, and Jug Handle Beach.

What do I like best about Seabird Lodge?

I mentioned Seabird Lodge is pet-friendly, with a $20 nightly fee added to your stay. It seemed there was a central grouping of booked rooms for pets, and our room was above the laundry, so the pitter-patter of dog feet wasn’t intrusive to downstairs neighbors. Our room didn’t seem overly dog spotted or soiled, with cleanliness on par for a budget-friendly motel.

Apart from being pet-friendly, the Seabird Lodge has an indoor pool and hot tub—making for a warming visit on a cold, misty Fort Bragg morning or afternoon.

Taco Bell, Round Table Pizza, La Playa, Home Style Cafe and Mountain Mike’s Pizza are all within walking distance of Seabird Lodge.

Getting Two Large Pizzas from Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Fort Bragg

I have never had Mountain Mike’s Pizza, so the nearby restaurant in Fort Bragg was the perfect choice while we had an evening in at the hotel. Only a block away from the Seabird Lodge, Mountain Mike’s Pizza competes with Round Table Pizza for quality ingredients, albeit maybe the less greasy option.

Expect to pay $30 for a large Mountain Mike’s Pizza.

We tried the Everest pizza, a classic combination of pepperoni, Italian sausage, salami, linguica, beef, mushrooms, black olives, bell peppers, onions, and red sauce. The second pizza we ordered was a large Robbers Roost pizza, a garlic chicken combination with grilled chicken, diced tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, green onions, and creamy garlic and red sauce.

Both pizzas were excellent, although I LOVED the Robbers Roost.

Since we were feeling nice, we brought a few slices back to camp at MacKerricher State Park.