Fern River

Fern River is a small city straddling a river of the same name. The city center and inner neighborhoods occupy the southern bank, with a stone-paved promenade extending the length of the riverfront. At the east end sits the college and at the west, the art museum. At the base of iconic Citron Hill, Celandine Hotel marks the midpoint. North of the river is quieter and more residential, with farms and orchards picking up where narrow streets leave off.

Eight kilometers upstream (to the east) lies popular Heather Beach and the Preserve beyond. The climate in Fern River is Mediterranean, with warm, sun-washed summers and mild, humid winters. Palm trees line the riverfront Promenade and trees shade narrow neighborhood streets. Both the river and the city were named after the valley’s endemic plaited tree fern (Cyathea plectens), which grows to great heights in parks and the surrounding woodlands. The city’s weekly newspaper, noted for its open-mindedness even in open-minded Fern River, is called the Plectrum.

The city is known for the bohemian lifestyle many of its denizens embrace, its support of the arts, a slightly quirky four-year college and the eccentric, do-it-yourself style of architecture that has developed in its neighborhoods since the 1970s. In Fern River, artists work in open windows after breakfast, lovers slip into the river at dusk, and possibility hides playfully around every corner.

Come for the lively public spaces, stay for the lovely, uninhibited people. You might not want to leave.