Elk (formerly Sadie Gravlee and Elk River) is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California. at an elevation of 135 feet (41 m).

thumb|Greenwood - Elk Beach, Mendocino County, California

A new sawmill was built and another followed in 1963. These operated until the late 1960s, when the redwood and Douglas fir was mostly logged out (which means that the ancient trees big enough to be thought of as more valuable dead than alive had been killed). After some quiet times, the town has had a rebirth as a recreation destination, particularly as a result of the pandemic, with people wanting to get out of the urban areas. Despite its small size, the town has some art galleries and fine-dining restaurants, one of which was a 2025 James Beard Foundation Award finalist. A couple of the larger old houses are now bed and breakfast inns, and the state has acquired Greenwood State Beach and the original mill site as a state park.

The ZIP Code is 95432. The community is inside area code 707.

Elk Logging Railway locomotives

{|class="wikitable"

!Number

!Builder

!Type

!Date

!Works number

!Notes

|-

|

|Baldwin Locomotive Works

|4-4-0

|1873

|3495

|originally North Pacific Coast Railroad #1; purchased 1876; scrapped 1903

|-

|1

|Lima Locomotive Works

|Shay geared

|9 May 1903

|800

|built for L.E.White Lumber Company

|-

|2

|Lima Locomotive Works

|Shay geared

|8 December 1904

|957

|built for L.E.White Lumber Company

In the United States House of Representatives, Elk is in .

References

  • Elk, CA Travel Information