Hiking the Lost Coast Trail in California

This epic adventure along California’s rugged shoreline is worth it!

At a Glance

25 miles • 4 days • Mattole Beach to Shelter Cove • August

Permit required through recreation.gov. Bear canister mandatory. Three sections impassable at high tide.

Full trip details and logistics at the end of this post.

Is the Lost Coast Right for You?

I spent the better part of four days backpacking the Lost Coast Trail with my daughter. It was full of surprises.

It is definitely more challenging than I expected even though it is mostly flat, at sea level, and only a bit over 25 miles in total. You‘ve got the logistics of getting there (it is called the Lost Coast after all), tide tables to learn how to read, a shuttle to book, a permit to acquire. And then you walk on uneven, rugged terrain for many miles. When you realize you get to walk on a dirt path, it seems quite tantalizing until you realize then you must keep an eye out for rattlesnakes, poison oak, and ticks! This trail takes paying attention to a whole new level.

Reading the Tides on the Lost Coast Trail

The biggest thing to pay attention to when planning to hike the Lost Coast Trail is the tides. I found the Outdoor Status website to be incredibly helpful in choosing when I wanted to apply for a permit. It has an interactive chart that shows where the impassable zones are (the sections of coastline where you absolutely must cross while it is at low tide) and how long it might take for you to cross them (it includes a moveable toggle to adjust how quickly you think you might move—I was surprised that sometimes we hiked about 2 miles an hour and sometimes more like 1.5.), along with dates and times for high and low tide. Find all this helpfulness at the Lost Coast Trail Tide Chart. Of course, I would be remiss if I also didn‘t suggest that you look at the NOAA tide tables as well, but honestly I found those charts a lot harder to decipher. So, look at both.

Even with all the technical planning aspects, it is an amazing trip that I would totally do again.

What Makes the Lost Coast So Special

A few things stand out as to why this backpacking trip feels so special. While you are not alone as there are 60 permits handed out daily during peak season, it definitely doesn‘t feel crowded. Because the nature of this trail is the shoreline, there is not a path along the beach most of the time. Occasionally, you may find sections where there is a trail right up against the cliffs, but when the tide is out you‘ve got the whole beach waiting for you. So there is also a lot of choice to where exactly you wish to walk on that wide expanse of sand, which makes it sometimes challenging and a lot of times freeing because you get to create your own pathway.

Wildlife and Landscapes along the Trail

There's also a lot of flora and fauna. From seagulls and seahawks to sea lions and elephant seals, the marine life is so close. We also saw red foxes and deer. Further south we found a lot of bear prints in the sand. We did not encounter any actual bears on this trip, but they were definitely active. The environment was incredibly diverse considering you hike for only 25 miles or so. Grassy prarie feels, foggy ocean cliffs, green and wet creek outlets—you get it all. Even the trees, flowers and shrubs change as you walk from one end of the Lost Coast Trail to the other.

The Sound of the Lost Coast

And the noise! You‘d think I would mention the quiet as we are out away from cities with very few people relatively speaking, but the ocean is loud. The decibel level changes depending on how close you are to the actual breaking waves, but most campsites are definitely within earshot of the crashing water. And there's an odd rumbling that occurs in some sections as the water pulls against all the rocks and pebbles as a wave recededs. It‘s really quite spectacular. In one particular campsite, Big Creek, our tent was up on a bluff and the tide came in right below so over the course of the night you could hear how close the water was.

This trail takes paying attention to a whole new level.

What this Trail Asks of Your Body

This is the first trip where my hip, knees and feet weren‘t completely happy. The unevenness of the sand, pebbles, and rocks were part of the problem, but the biggest culprit was the fact that all of it shifts under you as you walk. Your body works really hard to balance and each step requires you to use all those small muscles that may not get utilized very often. Apparently, there may be some extra pressure on the joints, too, but as I am not a medical provider, all I can say is that you might get sore. I would strongly recommend trekking poles for everyone, not just for those of us whose joints might feel a little compromised in the sand. I use the Black Diamond Carbon Z poles, while my daughter borrowed my Leki ultralight poles. If you like the softer sound of the rubber tips, remove them before starting the Lost Coast Trail or you will just lose them in the sand!

Choosing Footwear for the Lost Coast Trail

You can mitigate some of this pain with the type of footwear you choose. Before the trip, I read a lot about wearing trail running shoes without waterproofing since you are hiking near a lot of water. After hiking this trail, however, I completely disagree! My feet were more sore than they needed to be. If I had chosen to wear hiking shoes or even boots with a stiffer and harder sole, my feet and perhaps the rest of my joints would have felt much better. Keep in mind that I wear boots on High Sierra trails, too, and would never backpack with trail runners despite how many people suggest it. I almost think it‘s even more important on the Lost Coast Trail. My new favorites are the Altra Olympus 6 Hike. It comes in a shoe as well as a boot. Both are relatively lightweight and have a sole that can take some pounding, especially when you are wearing a backpack. No matter how ultralight you are trying to get, if your legs and feet are tender for whatever reason, wear a shoe or boot that will support them.

How to Get to the Lost Coast Trailheads

If driving, take highway 101 to Redwood Drive & Briceland Thorne Road to Shelter Cove or Mattole Beach coming from the south. From the north take hwy 222 exit to Mattole Beach or hwy 101 to Redwood Drive to get to Shelter Cove. If flying, plan your trip into Eureka or Arcata airports, then rent a car. Utilizing the shuttle service gets you to the final trailhead or back to your car if you hike first and need to return to where you parked.

Lost Coast Trail Itinerary: 4 days | 25 miles

There are a lot of ways to plan your trip and since there are frequent campsites next to water you can also pretty much decide as you walk. But the tide tables will determine how far you can ultimately go. This is how we did it.

Day 0 - drive to and camp in Shelter Cove. Met friendly people, saw deer, a lighthouse, and sea lions.

Day 1 - take the 12:30pm shuttle to Mattole Beach (about 2.5 hours). We hiked approximately 5.5 miles to Sea Lion Gulch Campground. There are not a lot of sites here because it is up on a ridge but everyone was friendly, which was good because we had to camp close to each other. We had to take a short detour off the beach and up onto the bluff due to the presence of elephant seals. The are a protected species and humans are not supposed to get within 100 feet of them.

Day 2 - Our plan was to hike about 8 miles but we decided to keep going and hiked another 1.5 miles to , instead. We were toast even though it was early afternoon so we had a giant campsite almost to ourselves. Sleeping on sand is amazingly comfortable, by the way.

Day 3 - This was a day we decided to split, otherwise we would have needed to get up really early to beat the high tide. Given we were so tired from the day before, we decided to make it a late start day. That was definitely the right call. We needed to split the day due to the tide tables. We began hiking about 10:30am and then had a good 5 hours to explore, take photos, see deer, talk with people, make our first dinner (!), and play cards. At about 5pm we headed to do the next impassable zone. We did two of them and camped in solitude at Big Creek Campground. This was a really beautiful site and highly recommend.

Day 4 - Got up early to beat the high tides this morning and hiked to the trailhead at Shelter Cove. We had a fabulous meal at the Cafe. I know that food always tests better when you finish a backpacking trip, but the burgers would have been wonderful on their own.

Tips for hiking the Lost Coast Trail

•Do not mess around with the tides! Read the tables and ask other hikers so you can all make wise choices together.

•It is suggested that you proceed north to south on this trail due to the wind, but we did see a fair number of people hiking northbound—the permits are the same so it‘s not easier to get it going one particular direction like it is for other California trails.

•Use trekking poles even if you don‘t usually. It makes it a lot easier for hikers of any age to manage the uneven surfaces.

•Bring more snacks. I‘m a pretty experienced backpacker and I underestimated how many calories we would burn walking in sand even if the mileage was relatively small.

Plan Your Own Lost Coast Trail Trip

Distance	About 25 miles
Time	4 days | 3 nights, with one night camping in Shelter Cove beforehand
Route	Mattole Beach to Shelter Cove, north to south
When I went	August
Elevation	Mostly at sea level with some climbs up the bluffs
Difficulty	Challenging for reasons that have little to do with elevation: shifting sand and cobble, tide timing, and remote logistics
Permit	Required year-round for overnight trips. Reserve through www.recreation.gov on a rolling 90-day window. Daily quota is limited and peak-season dates go fast. Walk-ups sometimes available, but it a long drive if you depend on that. Book early
Bear Canister	Mandatory. Active bear population. Mandatory. Rent from the BLM King Range office in Whitethorn, the Shelter Cove or Petrolia General Stores, some REI locations, or through Wild Ideas at www.wild-ideas.net (for a fancy, carbon lighter-weight version).
Water	Plentiful. Creeks reach the ocean every mile or two. Filtering recommended.
Tides	Learn to read the tide tables. Use the interactive tide chart. Call the King Range National Conservation Area Visitor Center and they can explain how it works—I did that, and found it very helpful.
Shuttle	Lost Coast Adventures runs between Shelter Cove and Mattole Beach, about 2.5 hours, two times a day in both directions. Book as soon as your permit is confirmed as space is limited to seats on the van. When we went, they ran two vans to accommodate everyone. Book a shuttle at https://lostcoastadventures.com. (They also run tours if you want a guided experience.)
Getting There	If driving from north or south, take highway 101 to the appropriate exit depending on which trailhead you are going to. If flying, plan your trip into Eureka or Arcata, then rent a car.
Watch For	Rattlesnakes, poison oak, ticks, black bears, and elephant seals (stay 100 feet back).
Trailhead Reward	Black Sands Bistro

---

Lea Appleton, PCC, NBC-HWC, is a Wayfinding Guide whose outdoor job is leading Wayfinding Days, Labyrinth Walks, and Team-Building Experiences and whose indoor job is coaching, writing, and speaking. She works with people who sense the path calling—and are learning to trust that it is worth following. Learn more at www.wildwayfinding.com

---