Green Day History and Landmarks in Mendocino County

You’ve heard of the Bay Area landmarks tour, but did you know it’s not 100% complete without heading north to Mendocino County?

Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt are from Rodeo, CA, but Tré Cool is from the Mendocino mountains beyond Willits. It was so remote that his first band, The Lookouts, ‘used to jam with solar panels and a fuckin’ Peavey amp’ (Rolling Stone, 1996). As you may already know if you’re reading this very niche post, The Lookouts were the namesake of Green Day’s first record label, Lookout Records, so there’s some general Green Day history in this area as well.

In October 2025, me and my friends drove up to Mendocino to see some of these places. We should have set out earlier, or even stayed overnight, so although we did well with the time we had, there were a few things we didn’t see. There are probably even more obscure places we didn’t think of, so I’ll add to this post if I discover more.

These places are well off the beaten track. Willits is a 2.5 hour drive from San Francisco. You’re unlikely to see anyone from out of town, let alone foreign tourists. By the time you get to Spy Rock Road, you’ll be asked questions if you see anyone at all. The roads become winding dirt tracks with no barriers to protect you from sheer drops. So in short, doing this tour is only for the most hardcore fans, but I hope you enjoy the photos whether you do it or not!

This is the list of the most important Green Day landmarks in Mendocino County, in the recommended order for anyone who wants to visit.

Contents:

Hopland, CA

Your first stop will be Willits, but you might want to pass through Hopland on the way, because it’s mentioned in ‘Mendocino Homeland’ by The Lookouts.

‘From the rugged north where the sequoia still stand to the bloddy red wine of ol’ Hopland, Mendocino Homeland…’

Willits, CA

Address of the sign: 1037 Fort Bragg Rd, Willits, CA 95490, USA

The first major stop! Willits is where Tré went to school and his dad also owned a diner here, which we’ll get to in a minute…

Kelly’s Diner

Address: 77 S Main St, Willits, CA 95490, United States

Tré once bought a diner in Willits for his father, who named it the California Diner. The walls were covered in Green Day merch and their music was played. It’s now under new ownership and is called Kelly’s Diner. There’s no sign of Green Day anymore and the owner knows nothing about any of it, but a lovely server was able to confirm that it was the one thanks to her girlfriend who knew Tré.

‘There’s a small town called Willits in the Redwoods in the north of California, and my dad runs a restaurant there called the California Diner. It’s an American restaurant that serves hamburgers, steaks, and more. There’s lots of Green Day merchandise on the walls. Green Day songs are always playing. There are posters, too… that shows how proud they are of us.’ — Tré Cool (Crossbeat, May 1998)

I also met a bloke in a gas station who used to work at the California Diner and told me that Tré bought it for his dad.

Willits High School

Address: 299 North Main St, Willits, CA 95490, United States

This is where Tré went to high school.

If you do go, try to time your visit so you’re not taking photos when students are around.

Sherwood Road

Green Day were infamously signed to Lookout Records after impressing Larry Livermore at a show in a cabin in the snowy mountains in 1988. That cabin was on Sherwood Road in the Mendocino mountains.

‘The night I first saw Sweet Children playing for five bewildered high schoolers in that candlelit cabin atop Sherwood Road, the first thought that popped into my mind was, “These guys could be the new Beatles.”’ — Larry Livermore

We didn’t actually make it to Sherwood Road. The photo above is of the surrounding scenery, which gives you an idea of how remote that cabin was!

Look out for signs to Fort Bragg

The coastal town Fort Bragg is also mentioned in Mendocino Homeland.

‘From the rocky shores of ol’ Fort Bragg to the Spy Rock mountain marijuana plant…’

If you really want to go for 100% completion, Sherwood Road leads to Fort Bragg, but it’s very out of the way and there are plenty of signs if you don’t want to go all the way.

The ‘Laytonville address’

Address: 50 Ramsey Rd, Laytonville, CA 95454, United States

This PO box address was where all the early mail for Lookout Records was sent. If you’re a Green Day collector, you might have heard people talking about the ‘Laytonville address’ and ‘Berkeley address’ on the different copies of 1,000 Hours and Slappy. The actual PO box doesn’t exist anymore, but the building does.

Area 101

The Lookouts played their first show at this weed shop that used to be a grocery store called the Grapevine Station (or Grapewine depending on who you ask).

‘The Lookouts were loud and wild. The crowd was not exactly appreciative. Nor was the store owner. She came running over to me, furious, and said that her customers were leaving, that we either shut down the Lookouts, immediately, or she was ending the party. I walked over to Jimmy and told him we somehow needed to pull the plug, and, well, he did. He didn’t say a word, just yanked the power cord right out of the outlet.’ — BB Kamoroff, bassist in the Red Hots

Spy Rock Road

The Lookouts’ final album was named Spy Rock Road after this winding mountain road. It’s also the perfect picture to understand where ‘the world’s most dangerous drummer’ came from and where Green Day spent time and played early shows in cabins.

We only saw two other cars here and they didn’t stop, but I’ve since heard and read a lot about how suspicious the residents can be because of the weed farms, especially if visitors come in with big cameras. Even without a weed farm, I’d be suspicious if a load of camera-wielding people suddenly jumped out of a car outside my house in the middle of nowhere. So be aware of that if you visit.

Conclusion

As I said in the intro, this addition to the Bay Area landmarks tour is only for the most hardcore Green Day (or Lookouts) fans. I wouldn’t say it’s only for Tré fans though. Many of Green Day’s early shows were played up in these mountains. All these pieces of their history complete the puzzle that formed songs like ‘Jesus of Suburbia.’ So if you want to immerse yourself in their history from head to toe and you’ve already done the Bay Area landmarks tour, you might enjoy a detour to the ‘Mendocino Homeland’ on your next trip. I loved it, but then I do take photos of the most boring suburban streets.

If you have any questions or you can think of something else to add to the list, please leave a comment!