This past April, National Geographic’s Stephanie Pearson published 100 Hikes of a Lifetime U.S.A., which details the country’s best bucket-list hiking trails. From the captivating descriptions to classic Nat Geo photography, the book contains plenty of routes to inspire even the most casual hiker.
California routes, of course, feature heavily in the book, from Yosemite’s Half Dome Trail to our own Bay Area Ridge Trail. But the Lost Coast Trail might be one of the most fascinating inclusions, and as Pearson describes, “unlike any other in the United States.”
Hiking the Lost Coast Trail
California’s Lost Coast is a 75-mile stretch of raw coastline between the small towns of Rockport and Ferndale, often referred to as the longest undeveloped coastline in the country. The area’s brutal wilderness has saved it from human development time and time again, and even State Route 1 veers inland for almost the entire stretch. These days, the region is protected as part of the King Range National Conservation Area.
The Lost Coast is nearly impossible to reach as a result, but backpackers and hikers are known to take on the Lost Coast Trail, a 25-mile hikable section of the Lost Coast between the Mattole River and Shelter Cove.
Ambitious hikers and backpackers come from all over the world to experience California in its purest form along the Lost Coast, which features pristine black sand beaches, coastal forests, and 4,000-foot mountains.
The trail bypasses the historic Punta Gorda Lighthouse, which dates back to 1912, and the candelabra redwoods, a fascinating redwood grove where the trees naturally grow into twisted, candelabra-like shapes.
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.
