The campus is located near Arcata (Pop. 16,651) and Eureka (Pop. 26,128), so it is fairly isolated, beautiful, and rural.

Culturally and geographically, this part of Northern California has more in common with Oregon than the rest of the state. In fact, urban California is so far away, that it barely exists in the minds of most residents. Metropolitan San Francisco’s sprawl and its 7.1 million people is about 280 miles away on U.S. 101.

There are still some aging hippies and a lot of marijuana cultivation. However, Humboldt County is actually pretty conservative, socially. Not much to do in terms of partying. And while it is reliably Democratic, this is more because of the area’s ties to environmentalism than an endorsement of other DP policies.

As for the university itself, Humboldt State’s best programs are related to the natural sciences. If you’re going to become a park ranger, marine biologist, or ecologist…it’s a good place to do research.

Travel to Eureka before you ponder this anymore. Its 55 degress in the day. Its 55 degrees at night. I can nearly gurantee that Weather.com has a forecast of 55 degrees and blowing fog for tomorrow. You wont see the sun much, but there is only one certainty…. it will be about 55 degrees. Extremely high unemployment. Very isolated from the rest of the state…..its a surprise its in California at all…. Have you seen Erin Brockovich? Hinkley, Ca has alot more potential than Eureka.