Eel River High Water
After 10 days of spring weather, and some excellent steelhead fishing on the Eel River, we are getting pounded with rain and the Eel has swollen it’s banks and it is now ”blown out” for fishing. This photo shot from the top floor of the hotel looking over the Terrace shows the rising river waters on the East Branch of the Eel rushing past the historic stone bridge. Many people like to come to Benbow to relax in the winter; to just sit by the fireplace, read a book, sip some wine and just watch it rain and listen to the raging river. Remember, no matter how bad the weather is, Benbow is open 365 days of the year and we have a generator. We are always serving in our dining room and you have a warm place to stay. This time of year we offer our popular Winter Bistro Menu. So come and relax. Let it rain. Let it rain. Let it rain!
We are pleased to announce a new Winter Bistro Menu. Entree’s from $23 to $26. Serving meats, fowl, seafood, vegetarinan and vegan fare. Take advantage of our Varietal Wines 1/2 Off Nightly Specials featuring selections made by our Wine Director and come try our new Bistro menu. Enjoy the warm atmosphere and some delicious comfort food!
Valentine’s Day is coming and Benbow is the place for love! We have a the perfect Valentine’s Day special that includes room, dinner for two, champagne and chocolates and a sweet in-room gift! Advance reservations only, so don’t put it off, call today. Impress your sweetie…get away and celebrate your romance!
We have had a lot of rain and this week the Eel River is blown out. Prior to these recent storms, the Eel River was prime steelhead fishing. Now we have to wait for it to clear up, and when it does the fish will run.
We have snow on the hills surrounding Benbow…the last storm brought snow to Alderpoint. Roads are all clear…so come visit us.
The Holidays are here and Benbow is decked-out with over 20,000 lights, and a 12 foot tall Christmas tree in the Lobby. The Bar Lounge and Dinning room are also beautifully decorated in pink and copper colors. The maintence crew begins stringing white outdoor lights around mid-October and the interior decorations take about 7 days to complete. It’s big job but the result is fun to see and enjoy. If you’re looking for some bright holiday spirit, come visit us.
This year we are adding a professional fireworks show to our New Year’s Eve gala dinner and dance! We have all the necessary permits and this will be a spectacular evening for our guests.
After some snow and a hard frost, we’re finally getting some serious, much needed rain and the rivers are beginning to flow. Steelhead are already beginning to run in the Eel River. The fishing season begins in January and goes through March. Benbow Hotel and the RV Resort is a great place to stay when fishing is hot on the Eel . We also are offering our guided fishing package again this year.
Happy Holidays!
Anglers out there…the South Fork of the Eel River is prime steelhead fishing right now! These photos were taken this morning of driftboats at Tooby Park and just South of Benbow Dam. They are catching steelhead near Sylvandale’s. We have several anglers staying at the Benbow RV Resort reporting good luck near Piercy. We spoke this morning with Patrick Burns’ of Kikn’Back Guide Service, and he said he’s fishing the South Fork of the Eel River tomorrow. Good Luck out there. For a terrific article on Eel River steelhead information check the back issue of Salmon & Steelhead Journal, Winter 2006. Check back here for updated fishing and river conditions.
Remember, the Benbow Hotel offers a $90 winter rate to stay plus we have a fine restaurant and bar lounge. We’ll pack a box lunch for you upon request.
Our weather is sublime! Cool in the evenings with clear, sunny blue skies. Golfers are enjoying the course…it’s in beautiful condition right now.
The Hotel was brimming with romance for Valentine’s Day. Benbow has long been known for great romantic gettaways. Valentine’s Day, and all this week, we have been host to lovers celebrating Valentine’s Day and enjoying the Hotel. We are expecting more sweethearts this weekend.
We’ve had typical March showers and sunshine all week. The Eel River did not blow out and the steelhead fishing is still good. These photos were taken at the confluence of the South Fork Eel River and Sprowel Creek. Anglers waded out into the riffles and had some luck there. Drift boats are still going in at Sylvandales and near Piercy. Check back for more fishing and river conditions.
Are you wearing green? Today is St.Patrick’s Day and as the luck of the Irish would have it…our Executive Chef has prepared a wonderful Irish dinner special with Corned Beef, Smoked Bacon Cabbage and Buttered New Potatoes.
The temperatures are warming up during the day and blossoms are exploding everywhere. Our golf course and the hillsides are lush green and guests are out on the course getting their swing in shape for the season.
Here’s a fun factoid…Did you know Humboldt County is ground zero for Big Foot? The story of a wild hominid living in the Redwood forests hit the local news papers and the name Big Foot was coined by the Times-Standard newspaper of Eureka California, almost 50 years ago. The existence of this famous creature is hotly debated by experts and many visitors come to Humboldt just to check it out for themselves. Are you a believer?
Our guests, Al and Cecelia went fishing with our fishing guide Patrick Burns, on March 14th and they were kind enough to share pics of their awsome ctach! They told us they had a great time.
Steelhead fishing season will end March 31st. There’s still time to book one of our Fishing Adventure Packages. The Eel at Benbow begining to clear. Fish On…Al and Cecelia!
As you can see, it’s “Fish On!” on the Eel River. The Eel is blown-out from the recent rain, and we’re expecting rain this weekend, but it’s beginning to clear again…the steelhead will be running! We had a wonderful group of guests for the NcNab Ridge Winemaker Dinner on Feb. 28th. It was a fantastic evening of food pairing. We had with some lucious wine with an awsome menu and everyone enjoyed meeting Rich Parducci, of McNab Ridge. Our next Winemaker Dinner will be Saturday, April 18th with Ceago Vinegarden biodynamic wines. Call for reservations. Spring is here! Today is the Vernal Equinox and we are having a sunny warm day with temps in the low 70’s. Typical spring weather with rain in the forcast tomorrow. The garden flowers and bulbs are in bloom. Come to Benbow soon.
Happy New Year!
We are pleased to announce a new Winter Bistro Dinner Menu. Entrees from $16 to $21. Serving meats, fowl, seafood, vegetarian and vegan fare. Daily Chef specials. Weekly Wine Flight Specials. Wednesday Nights – pay half-price for any bottle of wine on our list. Dine in the cozy Hunt Room, or by the fireplace in the Benbow Lounge as shown in the photo.
Steelhead fishing season is January through March and we had ideal river conditions for fishing for steelhead last week. Drift boats launch directly west of the hotel. See photo. We need some rain now and will most likely get it next week. Check back for river conditions. We have a terrifice fishing package – check our hotel packages.
Come try our new Bistro menu…it’s terrific comfort food!
We had snow last week and this week we’ve got rain and it’s warmed up. The Eel River has begun to flow and we will soon have steelhead on the move. The photo was taken Dec. 29th, showing the South Fork East Branch flowing into the South Fork of the Eel River. It’s muddy right now, but if it begins to clear we will have some good fishing right here at Benbow. Check back for river conditions. Check the Packages page for our Fishing Guide Adventure.
We are winding down from Christmas and we enjoyed having so many guests stay for the holiday. We are now gearing up for our big New Year’s Eve Gala and Dance. We will clear the lobby and make it a dancing floor, on Dec. 31st and a LIVE swing band will play 9PM to 1AM with a champagne toast at Midnight. We still have a few packages left…call and reserve. This is a great party! Happy New Year!
The King of Jordan, His Majesty King Abdullah II, his brother, and his son, Prince Hashem arrived Thursday on a motorcycle tour of the North West Coast and stayed Thursday night at the historic benbow Hotel after touring the Avenue of The Giants and Redwood State Parks.
John and Teresa Porter, Owner and Managers of the Hotel officially welcomed the King upon arrial. Secuirty was tight and special precautions were taken to protect the Royal Family. This is another historic moment for the Benbow Hotel. We have hosted Presidents, Prime Ministers, Diplomats, Dignitaries and Hollywood Royalty, but this is our first King. We are honoring the King’s request not to show certain photos of him, or of him on his Harley-Davidson, but these show the security at the hotel and the King’s entourage departing. There was a lot of coordinating to do prior to arrival and the staff was very excited. The secret security teams were all great to deal with. “We are honored to have King Abdullah as our guest,” said John Porter, ” And we are pleased the Benbow Hotel was chosen as part of their North Coast tour.”
Very exciting times here this week at Benbow!
