MAGICAL MENDOCINO : CALIFORNIA COASTAL TOWN CASTS ITS SPELL OVER WORLD-WEARY TRAVELERS.

Byline: Susanne Hopkins Daily News Travel Editor

About 5 p.m. on a winter's day, when the headlands overlooking the Pacific Ocean have been burnished gold by the sun, the shops of Mendocino empty as crowds of people head for a cliffside view of the sunset.

In minutes, the sun descends, seemingly into the ocean. Cameras snap frantically, but I think it unlikely that any of them will capture the surreal beauty of the moment. The dying sun leaves behind a sky slashed with an artist's palette of corals and pinks; it suffuses the ocean in a heather-pink hue. For just an instant, the great orange orb hangs suspended. Then, it dips behind the horizon; the colors fade. Sunset in Mendocino is over.

``That,'' says a local bookseller as business resumes once again, ``is part of the reason we're here.''

The quality of light - and life - is what draws not only residents but visitors as well to this remote, hard-to-reach town of 1,100 people about four hours north of San Francisco. They come in such numbers - about 1 million a year - that the roads to get there, Highway 1 and Route 20 off Highway 101, are akin to parking lots in the summer.

``It's not the easiest place to get to, but once you do get here, there's that raw beauty of the forest and the sea,'' says David Hyman, who owns the Headlands Inn in town.

It's worth the effort. There's a rather serene ambience about Mendocino, a New England-style village that clings to the bluffs overlooking the Big River and the Pacific and has, as its backdrop, a forest that includes redwoods. Cats stroll lazily about the streets; people greet each other by name; shops epitomize the word ``quaint''; and picture-book-perfect Victorian homes, many of which are enjoying new life as bed-and-breakfast inns, abound.

Life is slower here - you won't even find a fast-food restaurant in town - and it's likely to remain so. Mendocino's remoteness helps, of course, but its development is overseen by the Mendocino Historical Review Board, which wields enough clout to vote down high-tech structures or blocklike contemporary buildings.

For off-season visitors, the appeal of the place is even more pronounced - or so I find on this winter afternoon. You don't have to jockey with hordes of other tourists for a restaurant table or a place on the headlands to watch the sunset. Accommodations are less expensive (never cheap, you understand, just less expensive) and parking is plentiful.

(There is a down side to a wintertime visit: Some of the shops and restaurants are closed.)

``This is the time of year I'd come,'' a resident tells me. ``It's not so crowded and - well, you take a chance with the weather, but if it doesn't rain, it's like this.''

``Like this'' is beautiful, crisp and clear. The choices for filling up such a day are plentiful. Mendocino lends itself to leisurely walks along the headlands and around town; biking, canoeing, or kayaking; strolling the beach; visiting unusual shops and art galleries; curling up at a cozy inn with a good book; or exercising one's adventurous palate at one of the town's innovative restaurants.

I decide to go exploring. As I ramble along the small blocks that comprise the town, past stores, a few tumbledown cottages, picturesque water towers and pristine Victorians, I find the terrain and the structures seem familiar. No wonder: Mendocino is a prime setting for television shows and movies. A tidy white Victorian b&b called Blair House on Ukiah Street is Jessica Fletcher's Maine house on TV's ``Murder, She Wrote'' and the Ford House, a visitors center at Mendocino Headlands State Park on Main Street, is the sheriff's office on the series. The town has also been the location for such films as ``Summer of '42,'' ``Dying Young'' and ``East of Eden.''

Who would have thought it started out as a rough-and-tumble lumber town? But it did - by accident. An entrepreneur named Jerome Ford, hearing that a cargo ship from China had sunk, set off from San Francisco in hopes of reaping Chinese treasures from the wreckage. But the treasures he found were Mendocino's redwood trees, a valuable commodity since San Francisco was running out of lumber in the wake of the Gold Rush. Ford teamed up with other entrepreneurs and a sawmill was built on the headlands. Mendocino was born.

I reap a lot of this information on a visit to the Ford House, a small, white clapboard house that Ford built in 1854 (735 Main St.; open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily; $1 donation). The bottom floor of the house on the headlands is a repository of local lore. There is a model of Mendocino, circa 1890, complete with its landmark water towers; displays on logging and shipping in the area; and data on Ford and his family.

An audiotape walking tour of the city can be rented here for $4.75 for the day; for $1 more, you can get an extra set of headphones and share the tape with a friend. The walk itself takes about an hour, but you can start and stop it at will.

Across the way from Ford House is Kelly House, an inviting yellow house perched on a knoll. Alas, it is open only from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday through Monday. This is Thursday. So I cannot see the exhibits of antique dolls, toys and quilts or hear tales about early Mendocino settlers William and Eliza Kelley, who built the redwood house in 1861. But at least I can admire the lavish calla lilies that bloom around the property's pond and be entertained by the ducks that waddle about and occasionally set sail - with loud quacking - in the water.

I stroll by the Masonic Hall on Lansing and Ukiah streets with its striking redwood carving of Father Time braiding a maiden's hair. Nearby, teens in their grunge look congregate around a beat-up car. As remote as it is, Mendocino shows some effects of the world: I see a few homeless people here bundled against the cool air and a family begs in front of the Kelly House.

The town's commitment to the arts is reflected in the Mendocino Art Center at 45200 Lake St. Built on the site of an old burned-down mansion, the center has the air of a small retreat. There are quiet nooks in the garden where you can reflect on nature and study the sculptures placed here and there. Inside, there are three art galleries, a library and art shop. Classes in a variety of art mediums are held and theatrical productions staged. It's a happening place.

On Albion Street, tucked in between some small houses, is the Temple of Kuan Ti, the Joss house where Chinese residents once worshiped. The humble little place, declared a California Historical Landmark in 1979, is undergoing renovation and plans are to open it to the public when it is completed.

My walk takes me along Main Street and into an inviting quilt shop.

``Have you seen any whales?'' the owner asks. I shake my head. It is the season for the giant mammals to migrate south for the winter. But I haven't seen a fluke, a plume or a spout, let alone a whale.

He has a window on the whale-going world, so he's seen several this season. ``We had a lot of them Saturday,'' he says. ``You look for the spout first. Then, you watch. They have to come up for more air.''

They are apparently holding their breath when I'm watching.

But no matter; Mendocino has plenty of other pleasures.

Even night is special here. Because, of course, the stars twinkle brighter and more profusely above Mendocino.

On Location In addition to its inviting shops and art galleries and its beach area, Mendocino is home to numerous gourmet restaurants. Prices at most of them are high, but not outrageous. (Don't figure you'll eat at a fast-food or chain restaurant; there aren't any). Bed-and-breakfast inns also flourish here (again, no chain motels or hotels are in town), but reservations are necessary.

While the city has more than its share of charms, there are plentiful outdoor activities as well at the four state parks and reserves that are nearby: Russian Gulch State Park, Van Damme State Park, Jughandle State Reserve and MacKerricher State Park. You can hike up to waterfalls (Russian Gulch), traverse an ecological staircase (Jughandle), fish and dive for abalone (Lake Cleone area of MacKerricher) and visit a fern canyon and pygmy forest (Van Damme). Campsites are also available at MacKerricher, Van Damme and Russian Gulch. For more information, call the Mendocino Area Parks Association, [phone].

For information on Mendocino, call the Fort Bragg-Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce, [phone].

CAPTION(S):

6 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Color) A water tower and Victorian farmh ouse are silhouetted in a typical Mendocino sunset.

Susanne Hopkins/Daily News

(2--Color) The New England-style town stretches along the bluffs above Big River and the Pacific Ocean.

(3--Color) Presbyterian Church was built in 1868.

(4--Color) Ducks waddle in a field on Main Street.

(5--Color) Father Time braids a maiden's hair at the peak of the Masonic Lodge.

(6--Color) Such bucolic scenes as this have made Mendocino a perfect setting for TV shows and movies.

Susanne Hopkins/Daily News

Box: On Location (See text)