I love this little town. Highway 101 used to run right through town, until it was bypassed by a freeway in 2016. The town took a hit for a while, but it seems to be doing pretty well now. It's a lot more quiet now, without all of that traffic going through town. A lot of people still stop to eat, stay, and of course catch the skunk train, which is the big tourist attraction here in town. I often stop and stay myself, when I'm on my way up to Humboldt County.
A lot of the town is mom and Pop businesses, but they do have your McDonald's, BK, Taco Bell, etc. There is a decent sized Safeway with a pharmacy, a dollar tree, among other shopping options. Places to stay range from your little mom and Pop roadside motels, to higher end properties. Besides fast food, restaurants range from American, to Mexican, to Chinese, there's even a very decent little Indian place in town. Gas prices in town are very comparable to Ukiah, up the road. If you want to test your luck, there's also a small Native American casino in town.
One of the coolest things in town, is the old Reno arch, which straddled Virginia Street, welcoming people to "the biggest little city in the world", from 1963 to 1987. After the new arch went up, and the old arch came down in Reno, a local resident wrote to the Reno city Council about acquiring the arch. His father, a local real estate agent, always called Willis "the gateway to the redwoods", and. "The heart of Mendocino County." Reno agreed to Willits taking the arch as a "long-term loan", and it took five years to get it standing in town, but now it stands tall over Main Street, welcoming everybody to town.
If you get a chance, get off the freeway and check this little town out. It's a great place. read more