Lost Coast

Spring 2025

We hiked the Lost Coast Trail in May 2025. In total the trip was around 26 miles, with 1,000 ft of elevation gain. We hiked the trail in 3 days and 2 nights, camping at Mattole Beach, Cooskie Creek, and Miller Flat. The weather was perfect, and we saw a bunch of different wildlife.

Day 0

We drove around 5 hours from South Bay to Black Sands Beach Trailhead, where we parked the car and loaded up our gear. Then we took the shuttle to Mattole Campground. We set up camp, and relaxed on the beach and played Uno.

Day 1

We woke up around 8am, and took our time to get ready and leave the campsite. As we were packing, a little ferret was burrowing near our picnic table - we were entranced by it digging its little hole and watched it for half an hour. We then walked to the start of the trail, where two rangers were checking permits. They walked us through the entire trail as some of the routes had changed, and also warned us about the rattlesnakes and dangerous beaches. They also made sure that our tide schedule was set.

We then went on our way. Immediately we were thrown onto the sand, which was more tiring than I had anticipated. It went along for about a mile, until it went into the bluffs. The trail on the bluffs were super overgrown, with tall plants and poison oak everywhere. Eventually we reached the lighthouse, and we saw a lot of elephant seals on the beach. There was a great infographic that told us that, at this time of the year, all of the seals were adult females who were molting.

We wanted to get past the first impassable section, so we pushed on. Along the way, we saw a sea otter playing in the waves. There were also quite a few river crossings that weren't that easy to cross. Gene was also pretty sure that he saw a snake, but no one can confirm.

We reached the last impassable zone by 3pm, and took a quick break since we were making good time. We reached Cooskie Creek by 5pm, and found a place to set up camp that was a bit inland. There were some tents closer to the beach, but they eventually had to move when the tide came up in the middle of the night. It was really cool seeing the tide come up all the way to the bluffs, and trap us in. There was a great mountain by us that we climbed and watched the sunset from.

Day 2

We woke up early at 5am, and was out of camp by 6:20am. The beach was super hazy and grey - it felt like an alien world. We hiked the last 2 miles out of the impassable zone, and it was super cool to see the tide so low. It exposed a lot of the rocks and tide pools, which we checked out along the way. There was also some sea anemones and starfish that we could see. Eventually the trail moved from the beach to the bluffs for the rest of the time.

At 10am, we took a break to eat a lot of food by the beach. As we were eating we saw two baby deer on the beach, who were super cute. Along the way to Miller Flat, we crossed by a few cabins, and then a huge house with a lot of people camping in front of it. There was even a small plane in front, and it turns out we were walking along the landing strip. The last river to Miller Flat was super wide and deep, so we ended up just wading through it as it was easier than rock hopping.

We eventually found a campsite near the back, since all the ones by the water at the front were taken. But as we were collecting water, we saw one that was empty so we moved. Turns out, it was extremely windy. We struggled to set up our tents in the wind, which must have been at least 20mph. Eventually, the wind died down and we were able to make dinner and play Uno.

Day 3

A couple of us from our group woke up around 3am to head out early to get the cars from Mattole Beach. The rest of us woke up at 5am, and left by 6am. We watched the sun rise as we hiked the last section of the trail. It was beautiful to see the sun coming from behind the mountains, and then eventually spill out onto the beach in front of us. I saw a dead octopus that seagulls were eating.

The trail itself was extremely rocky. We took a break after the rocks calmed down, and then met two Golden Retrievers named Honey and Gracie. They crossed a river to come hang out with us for 15 minutes, and then eventually had to continue along their hike.

We made it to Black Sand Beach around 11am. The group met up at Il Forno Bakery in Gaberville, where we got some food and washed our faces. The rest of the trip home was smooth sailing.