Dolphin Gallery
Volunteer-run Gualala Arts gallery on Highway One with rotating monthly exhibits from 70+ local artists.
- Mon 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Tue 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Wed 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM · Today
- Thu 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Fri 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Sat 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Sun 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Along Highway 1
Leg times are driving estimates along Highway 1.
South to north along Highway 1: Stewarts Point Store, then ~5 min to Sea Ranch Lodge, then ~15 min to Gualala Downtown, then ~25 min to Point Arena Downtown. Dolphin Gallery is the venue on this page.
Nearby
Within a short walk
Cove Azul Bar & Grill · Four-Eyed Frog Books · Gualala Pizza & Bakery · Gualala Seafood Shack · Gualala Supermarket · JR's Home and Auto · Surf Market · Taqueria Del Sol · Trinks Cafe · Upper Crust Pizza · Vue Kitchen · Wood N Arts Gallery
A short drive
- Gualala Point Regional Park 0.6 mi SE
- Gualala Arts Center 0.7 mi SE
- The Black Door Mexican Restaurant 0.7 mi NW
- River Bend Kayaks 0.9 mi SE
Store
Dolphin Gallery is the in-town retail arm of Gualala Arts, the nonprofit that has promoted visual and performing arts on the Mendocino-Sonoma coast since 1961. Unlike the main Gualala Arts Center a couple of miles up Old State Highway, the Dolphin occupies a small storefront directly on Highway One in the Seacliff Center, right next door to Trink's Cafe.
The gallery is staffed entirely by volunteers, many of whom are the same working artists whose pieces fill the shelves. It's a members' gallery — exhibiting artists must belong to Gualala Arts, and a quarterly curator panel reviews new applicants. The current storefront ("Dolphin Gallery 3.0") opened August 13, 2022.
Dolphin Gallery is run by Gualala Arts, which also operates the Gualala Arts Center (46501 Old State Highway) — host to concerts, lectures, theater, and festivals including Art in the Redwoods and the Whale & Jazz Festival. Artists interested in showing work at the Dolphin apply through Gualala Arts' Dolphin Shop Application, reviewed quarterly (January, April, July, October).
Before You Go
- Location: 39140 Highway One, Seacliff Center, Gualala — beside Trink's Cafe
- Budget: 15–30 minutes for most visitors; longer if chatting with volunteer artists
- Ticketing: the Dolphin is the in-town sales point for Gualala Arts event tickets (concerts, lectures, festivals)
- Visitor info: staff can point you to other coastal galleries, kayak and horseback rentals, and area restaurants and lodging
- Nearby: the Gualala Bluff Trail is steps away — pair a gallery stop with a walk to the bluff for river-mouth sunset views
What visitors say
- A browse worth slowing down for — "Such a charming place to browse and enjoy the local artisans work… I find it immensely relaxing and pleasurable" (Google review)
- Genuinely local work, deep bench — reviewers note 100+ local artists across jewelry, pottery, paintings, glass sculpture, and cards, with rotating monthly shows
- Staff are often the artists themselves — visitors call out kind, knowledgeable people, and the gallery doubles as an informal visitor-information stop with "good recommendations" (Google review)