Fortuna has a history much like that of other California towns. The first settlers came in hope of gold. Fortuna, however, offered a rich farming life, and soon the gold prospectors returned to the farming life they had once known.

Fortuna offers many services for travelers including excellent lodging facilities, supermarkets, drug stores, laundry facilities, barber and beauty shops, service stations, auto parts and repairs, a wide variety of restaurants, a full-service hospital with a 24-hour emergency room, and many fine retail stores.

Fortuna is located in Humboldt County just south of Eureka between Eureka and Rio Dell along US Highway 101 on the banks of the Van Duzen River near Humboldt Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

There is also a Fortuna, North Dakota.