Lost Coast Trail - Getting There
May 09, 2026
We are headed to the Lost Coast Trail to do some backpacking. This is a 25 mile hike along one of the roughest parts of California’s coast between Petrolia and Shelter Cove, all a bit south of Eureka.
The trail follows the headlands and beaches of the King Range Conservation Area, sometimes up on hillsides and sometimes on the beach in front of cliffs or steep, loose slopes. Traversing the beach sections requires planning around the tides as there are stretches where tides higher than two or three feet will trap hikers on the slope or wash them out to sea.
We will leave our camper at the trailhead at Mattole Beach and have reserved a shuttle service to take us from Shelter Cove back to the start. Even though the trail is only 25 miles we will spend three nights on trail because walking in soft sand or over large cobbles makes for slow going.
This popular trail requires a permit that limits access to 30 backpackers per day in non- summer months and 60 in the summer. We got on a waiting list and got our permit when someone else canceled.
We have a new tent and some other gear we have purchased for our Colorado Trail hike that we need to try out, and we also have to get in better backpacking shape. This trail is relatively close to home and guaranteed to be free of snow in May!
We finished packing up the camper and got on the road around 10. We drove down the coast and stopped for an ice cream cone at Face Rock Creamery. We continued on to Humbug State Park campground. This is a campground that we have driven by many times but never stayed at.
After we set the camper up and had a little bit of wine and appetizers, we hiked up the hill to the trail that follows the old path of Highway 101. We walked west on the trail and found a picnic table at a fabulous overlook of Humbug Creek emptying into the ocean and cliffs in the background - we wished we’d known about it and brought our appetizers up there.
We continued northward on the old road for a while and found another view spot looking towards Port Orford and then turned around. We had dinner back at the camper
