The Lost Coast is an untouched pristine section of coastline where the forest marches to the sea and backpacking the Lost Coast Trail is a bucket list item for many people. Located in the King Range National Conservation Area of Northern California, this remote trail offers stunning black sand beaches pressed against steep craggy towering mountains. This coastline is considered to be one of the most rugged in the lower-48 states.
The hike itself is relatively flat and short, but challenging. A lot of the hike is through sand, gravel, stones, and boulders which slows your pace. Some sections of the trail that are impassible during high tides.
There are technically two sections to the trail – north and south, but whenever someone says “the Lost Coast Trail”, they’re talking about the northern section between Mattole and Black Sands Beach (Shelter Cove).
This guide only covers the northern Lost Coast Trail.
Trail Overview
- Distance: 25.5 miles
- Type: Point to point
- Time: 2-4 days
- Elevation at trailhead: 27 feet
- Elevation Change: +1093/ -1060ft
- Difficulty: Moderate – Difficult
- Crowd Factor: Low-Medium
- Best Time: May – Oct
- Permits/Fees: Yes
- Water: Yes, needs to be treated
Highlights
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Lowlights
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The Lost Coast Trail video overview
Trailhead & Getting There
The Lost Coast Trail weaves along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the King Range National Conservation Area of Northern California. This is a very remote area of the country located roughly 3hours north of Fort Bragg CA, and 2hours south of Eureka CA.
The closest airports are:
- Humboldt County Airport – 103mi; ~2hrs
- Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County – 170mi; ~3hrs
- Sacramento International – 239mi; ~5hrs
- San Francisco International – 250mi; ~5hrs
While you can hike this trail in either direction, the majority of hikers will go from North to South, from Mattole to Black Sands Beach/Shelter Cove.
There are two main advantages to this:
- Shelter Cove is more built up and has hotels and restaurants (check out Gyppos Ale Mill and get your photo on the wall after finishing the hike!)
- This will for the most part put the wind and the sun at your back for most of the hike.
But going from point to point means that you’ll either need two cars, or you’ll need to hire a shuttle.
Logistics & Shuttles
There’s no public transportation here, don’t even try. You’ll be lucky if you have cell service (print out directions while you still have service!). Driving from one trailhead to the other is going to take roughly 2hrs along a narrow winding logging road that is partially washed out in sections.
Your options when doing this as a thru hike are to: bring two cars, rent a second car (closest reliable is Enterprise at Humboldt County Airport), or hire a shuttle.
There are only 2 shuttle service options.
- Lost Coast Adventure Tours – minimum of $300
- Mendocino CoastTours and Transportation – minimum of $600
Lost Coast Adventures charges $95 per person, with a minimum of 3 people. You can go ahead and book your spot on the shuttle and just hope that some other hikers also book a seat. Just be prepared that if you don’t, you’ll be on the hook for the $300. Lost Coast Adventures was very friendly to deal with – we had to cancel our trip the first year, they refunded everything but the non-refundable deposit and also offered to apply that deposit to our trip the next year. I also waited too long to reserve our spots on the shuttle the following year, but they still put us on a waitlist if someone canceled. Definitely recommend these guys over the other option.
Mendocino Coast Tour’s response to our inquiry was literally just “We have a $600 minimum. Try the other companies.”
If hiring a shuttle (most common option), you’ll want to leave your car at Black Sands Beach Trailhead at Shelter Cove, which is also where you’ll meet your shuttle:
Black Sands Beach Trailhead, 865 Beach Rd, Shelter Cove, CA 95589
Black Sands is more populated and there’s less risk of your car being broken into whereas Mattole is even more remote and has had some issues in the past.
If you have two cars and will be getting yourself to Mattole, the location of that trailhead is: Mattole Campground, 3750 Lighthouse Rd, Petrolia, CA 95558.
Pro Tip: Book your shuttle as soon as you get your permit – they book up quick!
Car camping near the trailhead
There is a BLM car campground at Mattole with roughly a dozen sites. You can also camp on the beach as long as you are at least 500 feet from the campground on the beach.
There are several camping options near Shelter Cove. The best is BLM Wailaki Campground, which is roughly 5mi from Black Sands Beach.
Permits
Permits are very competitive and difficult to get! Within minutes permits for the entire season will be gone.
Permits are available as a rolling reserve, opening at 7am PT 3 months ahead. So if you want to get a permit for March 1st, you’ll want to reserve that on Jan 1st. If you want to get a permit for March 15th, you’ll want to reserve it on Jan 15th.
There are 60 people allowed per day from May 15 to September 15, which is the most popular “season”. And then 30 per day for the rest of the year. Permits are available from Recreation.gov.
Things you’ll need to know before getting your permit:
- Starting trailhead (Mattole if you’re hiking North to South which is most common)
- Exit trailhead (Black Sands Beach if hiking North to South)
- Number of people in your party (Max 3 per permit)
- Entry & exit date
The cost is $6 per reservation.
Tips for getting permits
- Check the tides before you decide on your dates (more on this below) to make sure that the hike is passable during times when you’d want to cross the impassible zones
- Make sure you’re ready to go right at 7am PT, don’t be a minute late!
- Log into your account/ set up an account before it’s time to snag the permit. Don’t have any wasted time.
- Familiarize yourself with the permit form ahead of time. Even if there are no open dates available for this hike, the Recreation.gov permit system is pretty standard from trail to trail. So try a different area/trailhead just to get an idea of the form and what will be required.
Campfire Permits
Depending on the time of year, you may be allowed to have an open campfire, but you need a campfire permit. It’s free, just watch the video and then answer the questions: Get your campfire permit here.
Even with a permit, make sure to check current CA fire restrictions to make sure you can still have a fire at the time of your trek.
Planning your hike
Plan to hike at a slower pace than usual. About half of the trail is through sand, gravel, or pebbles. A safe estimate for most hikers on this trail is 1.5mph.
- Our first day we averaged 1.7mph
- Our second day was 2.2mph
- Our last day was 2mph
How many days does it take to hike The Lost Coast Trail?
The Lost Coast Trail can be in done in anywhere between 2-4 days – it all depends on the tides (more on this later) and the time of day when you want to be hiking.
When is the best time to hike The Lost Coast Trail?
The best time to hike The Lost Coast is late May to early Oct, with the outside/shoulder dates being April to late Oct. Since you’re walking along the ocean, you can expect the temperatures to stay fairly low and comfortable/cold almost year round. With this hike the concern is more being too cold than it being too hot.
May thru Oct not only has generally good temperatures, but also generally better weather as well. Nov – March can be a bit stormy, more unpredictable, and more prone to rain. The rain is not only unpleasant to hike in, but also swells the streams that feed into the ocean, causing more difficult and dangerous crossings. Over the winter months, temperatures may occasionally dip below freezing.
Elevation Profile
The trail is mostly right along the beach with little climbs. There are a few sections where the trail climbs on the bluffs and flats above the ocean, but it’s not very steep or a difficult climb in these sections.
Planning for the tides
**THIS IS IMPORTANT**
There are three sections of trail that are impassible at high tide. If you get stuck in one of these sections at high tide, you could be swept out to sea and die.
After you pick the dates you want to hike, you need to make sure that the tides will allow you actually to hike on those days (and ideally at convenient times, like not midnight). Planning your hike around the tides is imperative. There are three areas along the trail that are impassible during high tides.
The impassible sections are:
- 1.5mi – 2.2mi (spanning .7mi)
- 4.7mi – 8.6mi (spanning 3.9mi)
- 17mi – 21.4mi (spanning 4.4mi)
Depending on your ability, agility, and risk level, “impassible” may mean different things to different people. Even with a calm surf, you shouldn’t try to cross these areas if the tides are any higher than 3ft. Even at 3ft, in some of the more narrow sections, your feet are still going to get wet! Others may feel more comfortable waiting until the water levels are less than 1ft, which drastically narrows your window.
Even with all of your planning and making sure you’re crossing at the right times, always pay attention to the weather. Bad weather can shorten your crossing windows and can effect tide levels and waves. Big waves and “sleeper waves” make crossing these sections dangerous even at the lowest tides.
If there is a small craft advisory, this is an indication that the weather out at sea is more turbulent than what you’re seeing on shore. Be extra careful during these times as large waves could appear unexpectedly.
To figure out the times when you can cross the impassible zones, you need to consult with a tidal chart that can predict what the tides will be – available here. Visit the above URL, put in the dates when you want to go, and for the “threshold” enter the maximum water level you’d be comfortable crossing (for most people this will be “3”). Then click “plot daily.”
This will predict the height of the tides that day and will highlight in red the times when the tide are above your maximum threshold. The times when you want to cross the impassible zones are in between the “red” times in the chart. While you should still be good to continue to cross as the tide is coming back in while it’s low, make sure that you’ve gotten to a safe area before the “red zone”.
I also highly recommend using the Tide Alert app as your dates get closer to get more specific times for exactly when the tides will be at 3ft. While the above tide tables are good for giving you an estimate ahead of time, it only gives you the exact time of high and low time, not the exact time when the tides will be at 3ft…. so you would still have to guestimate…
The Tide Alert app will give you the exact time and height of the tides at that time.
This will allow you to be more precise with knowing exactly when the tides will be at 3ft, and when you need to be out of the tidal zones. It’s also available offline, so that you can use it while you’re on the trail.
When planning for how long it will take to cross the tidal zones, keep in mind a safe estimate is a pace of roughly 1.5mph.
Bail out areas
If you find yourself stuck in a tidal zone as high tide is coming in, there are “bail out” areas within each zone where you can back up into a canyon to get away from the ocean and wait it out. Each of these “bail out” areas are along a creek that feeds into the ocean and is also a campsite. Even during high tides, these campsites are safe as they are tucked away back into the canyons.
Within Tidal Zone 2
- Cooksie Creek Camp – 6.6mi
Within Tidal Zone 3
- Shipman Creek Camp – 18.6mi
- Buck Creek Camp – 20mi
Campsites
While you can basically camp wherever you want along the trail, you’re encouraged to follow the ethics of Leave No Trace, and camp in areas that have already obviously been “disturbed”. This lessens the impact that humans have on the trail if we all camp in the same areas, on the same footprint.
The campsites are all on fresh water creeks, making water sources plentiful and convenient. They’re also roughly ever 2-ish miles which is also really nice (thanks mother nature for being so thoughtful!).
Most of the campsites are set back from the beach, which can give a break from the wind if needed. There are various levels of shade at each site – some have great shade while others have little to none. Some campsites only have spots for 1-2 tents whereas others are large and can accommodate multiple parties.
Distance to each camp site (from Mattole Beach)
- 4.5mi – Sea Lion Gulch Camp
- 6.6mi (inside high tide zone 2) – Cooksie Creek Camp
- 8.7mi – Randall Creek Camp
- 10.6mi – Spanish Creek Camp
- 12.2mi – Kinsey Creek Camp
- 13.8 – Big Creek Camp
- 16.8mi – Miller Flat Camp
- 18.6mi (inside high tide zone 3) – Shipman Creek Camp
- 20mi (inside high tide zone 3) – Buck Creek Camp
- 21.6mi – Gitchell Creek Camp
- 23.6mi – Horse Mountain Creek Camp
Sea Lion Gulch Camp – 4.5mi – Not great
Campsites are up on the bluffs above the creek. They are not directly near the creek. There’s little to no cover from the sun or wind. Most sites are directly on the trail. But you do get a fantastic view of the ocean.
Cooksie Creek Camp – 6.6mi – Ok spots
Big campground with many available spots. The creek here is one of the larger creeks. But many of the campsites are pretty exposed and not very private.
Randall Creek Camp – 8.7mi – Not great
Campsites are up on the bluffs above the creek. The gorge is too narrow and the brush is too thick to find a good spot near the creek. Available spots have no shade or break from the wind. Sites are also directly on the trail. But there’s great views of the ocean.
Spanish Creek Camp – 10.6mi – Pretty good spots
Larger campsite with several available spots. Most don’t have much shade, but do offer wind breaks. Some sites are on the trail, but you can also find spots further back that have more privacy. Some spots have ocean views or shade – you’re not likely to find a spot with both.
Kinsey Creek Camp – 12.2mi – Good spots
Several nicely shaded sites. While this is a somewhat smaller campground, there are a few really good camp sites. They are close to the trail though and don’t offer much privacy, nor do they have ocean views.
Big Creek Camp – 13.8 – Ok spots
Didn’t get too much of a good look at this one – a large family with kids were camping here when we passed. From the beach, this looks like it would have a lot of available sites as it’s wide open, however there’s little to no shade.
Miller Flat Camp – 16.8mi – Great spots
Very large campsite with lots of great spots. Some spots have great shade and almost all of them have great ocean views.
Shipman Creek Camp – 18.6mi – Great spots
Our campsite here is one of the favorite campsites we’ve ever had. Not super large area. Maybe 1-3 campsites. Most have shade, and some have both shade and ocean views.
Buck Creek Camp – 20mi – Not great
Didn’t get too much of a good look at this one, the gorge is a but smaller and more narrow, but it seemed like there were likely 1-2 available spots up on the bluff to the right of the creek, but mostly exposed.
Gitchell Creek Camp – 21.6mi – Not great
Stopped here for a lunch break and I didn’t see any spots for camping. It’s a narrow gorge that has thick brush.
Horse Mountain Creek Camp – 23.6mi – Ok spots
Didn’t get too much of a good look here either. Seemed pretty similar to Buck Creek, just smaller. There were probably 1-2 spots available back away from the beach.
Water Sources
There’s plenty of fresh water sources along the Lost Coast Trail.
There are fresh water creeks coming down from the mountains into the ocean everywhere and you will have to cross many of these on the trail.
At minimum at every campsite, which is roughly every 2mi, but also plenty more small streams in between, These are nice to stop and drip onto your head to cool off! Always make sure that you are treating your water to remove harmful pathogens and contaminants.
Waste Disposal
PACK OUT YOUR TRASH. We were pretty disappointed to see how much trash was being left behind at several of the camp sites. It looks like previous hikers tried to burn their trash, which is not allowed and harmful.
Bury food scraps. You can wash your dishes with biodegradable soap in the fresh water intertidal zones.
Bury human waste by digging a 6-8” inch hole in wet sand in the intertidal zone on the beach to avoid polluting drinking water sources. Get as close to the ocean as you can and completely cover to maximize decomposition.
Campfire permits
Some areas have fire rings and there is driftwood you can burn. If you want to start an open campfire, get a CA campfire permit (details on this above under the permits section). It’s really super easy to get one!
Safety
- Check the tides. Check them again. Make sure you have enough time to cross the high-tide zones.
- Bear cannisters are required. While we didn’t see any bears, we saw some fresh bear prints in the sand below the tide level!
- Find an app like TideAlert that has offline tide charts. (I swear I’m not affiliated with them, I just love the app and it really made a difference when planning our hike!)
- Never turn your back on the ocean, always pay attention and be on the look out for sleeper waves. Be even more conscious if there is a small craft advisory.
- Keep an eye out for rattle snakes and ticks. You go through several sections of high grass. We saw several snakes (but no rattle snakes), though this is a prime area for them. We found dead ticks on our socks when we washed them after the hike.
- Poison oak is seemingly everywhere! Whenever you’re not on the beach, poison oak is sure to be around. It’s in with the high grass and also in the tree/foresty areas where the campsites are. Wear long pants and avoid coming into contact.
Wildlife
We saw more wildlife along this trail than we have on any other hike we’ve done. And the wonderful thing about the wildlife was that it wasn’t scared of us – curious, cautious, but not scared.
We saw: sea lions, elephant seals, seals, otters, coastal deer, garter snakes, cormorants, pelicans, turkey vultures, sea gulls, fish in the creeks, star fish, sea anomies, muscles and several other shelled ocean creatures.
We also saw bear tracks below the tide line!
Recommended Gear
In addition to our standard essential backpacking gear checklist
Bear Cannisters – REQUIRED
Bear canisters are required for The Lost Coast Trail. You need to carry one of the approved models listed on this page.
Black bears in the area will break into backpacks and tents if they smell food or other scented items like toiletries, sunscreen, bug spray, etc. All garbage needs to be stored in the bear cannister as well.
You can rent a bear cannister if you don’t have one for $5 per trip plus a $75 credit card deposit from the Arcata Field office, at the King Range NCA Project Office in Whitethorn (on the way to Shelter Cove), or from the Petrolia General Store near Mattole. Or from the Lost Coast Adventures shuttle.
Trekking poles
I don’t always use trekking poles, but I found them to be especially helpful during this hike. They not only help to pull/push yourself through the sand and gravel, but they help with stabilization going over the rocks and can be used to check for snakes when going through high grass. It was also nice to hold them as a possible weapon against a sea lion attack if needed (kidding, not kidding)!
Waterproof socks
Randy Sun waterproof socks – this was the first time I used these and they were great!! There were a few times when I plopped into a pool of water by mistake but my feet never got wet! They work really well and are surprisingly comfortable. I would honestly wear them on non-water hikes too just as an extra thick comfy sock!
What to expect along the trail
Day 1
Mattole to Spanish Creek Camp (Crossing Tide Zone 1 & 2); 10.6mi
Using the Tide Alert App, our passable low tide (below 3ft) window was: 4:30am – 2:30pm
While we were too late to make a reservation for the shuttle (which leaves at either 7am or 12:30pm) and ended up renting 2 cars instead, this had an unexpected benefit: we could start hiking earlier allowing us to cover more ground before being stuck by the tides.
Our goal was to cross the first 2 tide zones all in the first day so that we wouldn’t be “stuck” by the tides midway and just sitting around for most of the day. That meant hiking 9mi (through both tide zones) before 2pm (to give us a little extra wiggle room). And if we expected to be going at 1.5mi/hr, that would take 6hrs, which meant starting at 8am- an hour earlier that we would have been able to if we had booked the morning shuttle.
So since we were driving ourselves anyway I found an Airbnb only 45mins away from the Mattole trailhead, which allowed us to get an extra hour of sleep than if we had stayed in Shelter Cove the night before.
We set out on the trail at 7am to give us some extra time if we wanted to stop and explore anything along the way while still being able to cover enough ground.
First 1.5miles is a slog through sand before you get dropped down onto the beach for the first tidal zone.
Here the sand is “hard” and easier to walk on. You walk along the beach and as you approach the lighthouse (at 3.2mi), you might see some sea lions on the beach in front of you.
Now is a good time to get up onto the flat above the beach where the lighthouse is if you haven’t already to get out of their way. We stopped and watched the sea lions being ridiculous as we had a snack before continuing on.
Just after the lighthouse the trail was blocked by a bunch of sea lions sleeping directly on the trail.
As it was sea lion mating season, there were a lot of them and we didn’t want to get too close in case they would become aggressive.
We tried to avoid them as much as we could but didn’t want t walk through the sea lion mine-field that was the beach, so went out to the rocks on the tide pools where there seemed to be a few less of them to try to work our way around. The permit says stay 100ft away from them, but that was literally impossible.
After the sea lions, the trail ascends up onto the hill above the beach. This section of the trail is very narrow and one of the more dangerous sections as it’s a straight drop off the cliff to the beach below.
This continues until you reach Sea Lion Gulch camp and then the trail drops you back down onto the beach again for the second tidal zone. From here, look ahead and you can see the gulch that you’ll want to use to bypass the impassible bolder area.
The second tidal zone was the most difficult of the three. It was mostly gravel and pebbles for the beginning section. It really slows your pace working your way through that tough terrain. The gravel was really the worst. After working through that, I was so glad to be back on “hard” sand!
About 1/2 mi after this, is the impassible bolder bypass. There’s a well marked “LCT” sign on a post to your left showing you that this is where you need to climb up onto the bluff to bypass the area.
As soon as you’re up on the bluff, the bypass trail will continue directly to the right, climbing quickly. We made the mistake of going too far back into the gorge looking for the trail (so did the hikers coming behind us). If you’re reaching the water of the fresh stream in this gorge, you’ve gone too far! There’s another “LCT” post marker to show you the way.
After the climb of the impassible bolder bypass, the trail then continues on a flat above the ocean for a bit, including crossing another creek (very muddy for us), and then drops you back down onto the beach again.
Once you reach Randall Creek Camp/ creek, the end of the second tidal zone, the trail again goes back up onto a flat above the ocean. We reached this spot around 12:30pm, which was 2hours ahead of schedule.
So we stopped for a break and then since there was still a lot of time left in the day, continued on to the next campsite.
The trail traverses the flat covered in wildflowers from this section to Spanish Creek Camp. This was one of the prettiest sections of the trails because of all of the flowers.
Just before Spanish Creek, we saw a group of jackrabbits hopping around in a field and also a coastal deer climbing up the mountains.
Reaching Spanish Creek Camp, which had several good camping spots (see more details about the available options for camping above) and we decided to set up camp for the night with a great view of the ocean and the sunset.
Day 2
Spanish Creek Camp to Shipman Creek Camp (in the 3rd tidal zone); 8.2mi
Passable low tide window: 5:20am – 3:12pm, but we were planning on stopping by 2pm to be safe since we would be in a tidal zone and didn’t know how high up the beach the ocean would be.
We started a bit late around 8:30am. Starting off from Spanish Creek, this section of the hike crosses flats for a good while. You’re basically just following along a rugged road as there is a private cabin down here that the road services. That took some of the enjoyment out of this section for me, but you are able to keep a better pace since you’re on flat land.
At this stone marker, keep to the right to stay on the trail rather than following the road out and over the mountains.
As you approach the cabin, look for this sign carved into the driftwood which directs you back down onto the beach rather than to the private cabin.
This section of the beach was not in a tidal zone. We were crossing it during low tide, which made this section one of the best for hiking since the sand was hard and provided some cushion to walk on. Even though it’s passible at high tide, I think you’d be going through soft sand at high tide which would make this section more difficult.
We stopped up on a flat to have some lunch with two coastal deer who didn’t mind our presence at all. This is one of the large “bends” along the beach and there is a trail going over the flat if you want to cut through rather than sticking on the beach.
Shortly after you’ll go through more high grass which is interlaced with poison oak – there was lots of poison oak all over the trail and we also dug some dead ticks out of our socks later on too.
From here, it’s not far to Miller Flat, which is a large creek with a lot of great campsites and is the last available campsite before the next tidal zone.
You’ll continue along a flat and pass a “nice” private cabin.
And another sign in a piece of driftwood that puts you back down onto the beach.
Entering the third tidal zone is more dramatic than the other two. The bluffs here are much higher and the trail backtracks a little to get you down to the beach.
When crossing this section during low tide, there are many tidal pools along the waterline that you can checkout that are full of giant starfish and other sea creatures.
We reached Shipman Creek around 1:30pm and still had time to go onto the next site if we had wanted before being stuck by the tides, but we found a campsite here that we really loved, so set up camp for the night.
There was a curious young buck who kept us company for a few hours while he was grazing and drinking out of the creek. Not scared that we were here. We also saw an otter run up from the ocean to drink out of the creek before quickly disappearing back to the sea.
This campsite was one the best campsites we’ve had – ever. Nice flat open area that was well shaded with a great fire pit and you could still see the ocean.
Day 3
Shipman Creek Camp to Black Sands (Crossing Tide Zone 3); 7mi
Passable low tide window: 6:08am – 3:40pm
Since we had a lot of time this morning with the tides, we went and explored some of the tidal pools before continuing with the hike.
Continuing with the hike, from this section on you’ll remain on the beach, no more flats to cross. You can see Shelter Cove in the not-too-far-distance, which gives you an idea of how much further you have to go.
There are more tidal pools in the ocean and we also saw a baby sea lion and a seal up on some rocks.
The rest of the available campsites from here to Shelter Cove were smaller and didn’t seem to have as many good spots, so we were glad we had stopped at Shipman. A lot of the beach during this section is still mostly hard sand with some pebbles starting to creep in.
Crossing the end of the last tidal zone and it’s much more narrow here than some of the other areas we went though. Even going though at low tide (-0.5ft), the tide was still as close to the mountains as it had been when it was a 3ft on the beaches around Shipman. I would definitely suggest trying to hit this area at less than 2ft.
After passing a few large boulders, you’re almost at the end. Over the last 2 miles, the mountains pull back and the beach widens into a “typical” beach. This part is a bit of a slog as the terrain isn’t changing very much and you’re just hiking through soft sand and more and more pebbles as you get closer to the end.
There’s a house on the hill that sits above the trail exit. There’s an overlook area (that looks like a parking lot from the beach) to the left, and the exit trail is directly on the right of that.
After following the exit trail up to the road, it’s just a little further up the hill and then you’re back at the Shelter Cove Trailhead and parking lot on your left.