California’s Lost Coast is a 75-mile section of raw coastline between Rockport and Ferndale in Northern California. This coastal wilderness is so geographically challenging that it has remained almost entirely untouched by development, highways, and major roads, and even State Route 1 veers inland for the entirety of this part of California.
Due to the lack of infrastructure, the Lost Coast is nearly impossible to reach, but backpackers and hikers are known to take on the 25-mile Lost Coast Trail for a chance to experience California in its purest form.
Here’s everything you never knew about California’s most remote coastal stretch.
History and geography of the Lost Coast
The Indigenous Sinkyone, Mattole, and Wiyot peoples lived in the Lost Coast region for centuries, hunting and fishing throughout the land until the arrival of European settlement and the California Gold Rush in the 1800s.
Settlers developed nearby towns like Ferndale and Shelter Cove in the 19th and 20th centuries, but the Lost Coast’s rugged geography and frequent landslides thwarted any major attempts at developing this part of California. When highway construction began in the 20th century, the Lost Coast was bypassed.
In the 1960s, some additional attempts at large-scale resort development again failed, partly due to growing conservation policies and the establishment of the California Coastal Trail Commission.
These days, the Lost Coast continues to be protected as part of the King Range National Conservation Area.
Hiking the Lost Coast Trail
The Lost Coast Trail stretches about 25 miles between the Mattole River and Shelter Cove, and it’s easily the most famous and popular way to experience this otherwise unreachable part of California. Hikers and backpackers come from all over the world to see the region’s black sand beaches, coastal forests, and bluff-top prairies.
The hike requires a permit and usually takes between 2 and 4 days to complete, traversing the steep King Range, whose mountains rise 4,000 feet above the ocean. The trail also passes by the historic Punta Gorda Lighthouse, an abandoned lighthouse from 1912 known as the “Alcatraz of Lighthouses.” Other than the odd Roosevelt elk herd, seal pod, or seabird colony, you’re unlikely to encounter many other travelers.
The Lost Coast is part of the California Coastal Trail (CCT) network, an interconnected public trail system covering 1,230 miles from the Oregon border in the north to the Mexican border in the south. The CCT is currently about 70% complete, passing through some of the state’s most breathtaking scenery.
🌐 Learn more: Bureau of Land Management