Top California tourist destinations announce eight new historic landmarks highlighting cannabis culture for travelers and daytrippers
OAKLAND, Calif., May 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cannabis Trail—created to celebrate the cultural heritage stories of California's famed cannabis tradition by marking historic spots in the state from Santa Cruz in the south to the Emerald Triangle in the north—today announced its collaboration with the Visit Oakland, Visit Mendocino County, and Humboldt County Visitors Bureau. Similar to the Napa Wine Road, The Cannabis Trail offers adults an opportunity to enjoy a curated travel adventure showcasing the past and future of cannabis culture, highlighting modern day experiences alongside landmark attractions that make the stories of the California cannabis legalization movement vibrant and accessible.
"This is an extremely important time in the cannabis travel and tourism industry as the visitor experience continues to evolve with legalization," said Peter Gamez, President and CEO of Visit Oakland. "Working in partnership with Humboldt and Mendocino counties, we have created unique, enjoyable opportunities for visitors while increasing overall value for cannabis travelers."
The Cannabis Trail concept is particularly timely as research from MMGY Travel Intelligence shows. Its Travel Segment research recently placed the cannabis-motivated active leisure travel audience at approximately 72 million Americans, a full 37% of that cohort.
In 2022, Forbes estimated cannabis tourism to already be a $17 billion industry while Gallup confirms that 50% of U.S. residents have consumed the plant.
The Partnership
Oakland is home to the first cannabis equity license issued in the world, as well as several important cannabis landmarks. The city has a decades-long history of providing medical cannabis to patients while the contiguous counties of Mendocino, Humboldt, and Trinity are collectively known as "The Emerald Triangle," an area perfect for cannabis cultivation due to its hot summers, ample water, and lush green terrain. This is where back-to-the-land enthusiasts flocked in the 1960s and '70s to take advantage of inexpensive land to live free lives that included growing and consuming cannabis.
These destinations are natural partners for the greater exploration of The Cannabis Trail and its historic cultural landmarks throughout northern California, which include eight cultural landmark destinations.
In Oakland, highlights include:
In Mendocino County:
In Humboldt County:
"Mendocino County and the Emerald Triangle are 'place of source' destinations for cannabis craft, and we are delighted to invite visitors to discover our rich cannabis scene alongside the redwoods, wineries, and unique coastal settings and experiences for which we are so well known," said Ramon Jimenez, Executive Director of Visit Mendocino County.
The Experience
Visitors who travel the Cannabis Trail will experience immersive cultural storytelling highlighting legacy cannabis craft, tales from the war on drugs, and human rights stories including patient access, social equity, and inclusion.
For the first time ever, the Cannabis Trail allows visitors to meet legacy craft cannabis farmers and tour the farms upon which they live and work, seeing the cannabis grown outside in the sun alongside food crops and flowers, sheep and goats and family pets—just as it has for decades.
"We are excited to finally be able to welcome visitors to our legendary cannabis farms and introduce them to our skilled farmers and other artisan makers," added Julie Benbow, executive director of the Humboldt County Visitors Bureau. "This is really the beginning of a new era for tourism and travel. Northern California has an extraordinary experience to offer visitors."
About the Cannabis Trail Founded in 2015 by Brian Applegarth and including approximately 25 points of interest across northern California from Santa Cruz to the Emerald Triangle—with stops in Oakland, Mendocino County and Humboldt County—the Cannabis Trail tells an immersive cultural story that honors and celebrates the pioneers, places, and significant moments of the cannabis legalization movement. Look for The Cannabis Trail at this year's Emerald Cup, a juried two-day competition known as "the Oscars of cannabis," which celebrates its 20th anniversary August 17-18, 2024, in Oakland. Learn more: TheCannabisTrail.com
SOURCE Visit Oakland
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