69. Lost Coast: Bear Harbor to Usal Camp

Length:	33 miles round trip
Hiking time:	at least 3 days
High point:	1,000 feet
Total elevation gain:	10,600 feet
Difficulty:	strenuous
Season:	year-round
Water:	available from a variety of creeks; purify first
Maps:	USGS 7.5' Bear Harbor, Sinkyone Wilderness State Park Map
Information:	Sinkyone Wilderness State Park

So many folks dream about finding themselves on the Lost Coast, but only lucky souls get the chance. This is the land with jaw-dropping perpendicular views, black sand beaches, and brilliant wildflower displays. On this journey, you'll encounter many fern-encased creeks, experience relaxing seclusion, and discover numerous stately redwood groves.

Get to Redway on Highway 101 (about 60 miles south of Eureka), then travel 12 miles on Briceland Road. Turn left at Whitethorn and after 4 miles go straight at the Four Corners junction, then go 3.6 miles (this dirt road is now labeled County Road 435) to the visitor center. The next 2.4 miles to the Bear Harbor Trailhead are very narrow, potholed, and winding.

Gain the trail and cross Orchard Creek beneath a cluster of tall red alders. Pass Railroad Camp (0.2 mile) and continue on Lost Coast Trail along the creek and into a meadow decorated by horsetails. Bear Harbor features an excellent campsite and a knoll revealing breathtaking views up and down the Lost Coast.

Lost Coast Trail wanders east next to a gulch laden with sword fern and cow parsnip beneath towering red alder. California bay laurel shows up near a stream crossing, shading redwood sorrel and profuse sword fern. Higher up, the clean evergreen foliage of California huckleberry shrubs appears. Cross shaded Duffys Gulch (2.2 miles), a peaceful brook babbling over mossy boulders beneath a massive bigleaf maple and some old-growth redwoods.

The trail then leads past grasslands awash in spring with lupines, blue-eyed grass, and poppies to steep bluffs overlooking the sea. Pass a garden of orange bush monkeyflower before alternating between grasslands and dark forests until reaching an almost pure redwood forest at 3.3 miles. More old-growth redwoods highlight cool and tranquil School Marm Grove, just before Wheeler Camp.

Strenuous up-and-down climbing over the next 8 miles leads to view-loaded Timber Point. Sally Bell Grove features campsites at Little Jackass Creek (9 miles), two shaded by majestic old-growth redwoods and another pair near a shiny black sand beach. Capture the photogenic views of Anderson Cliffs to the south from Mistake Point, where you can look down on barking sea lions swimming near a pretty pocket beach.

Reach Timber Point at 12.6 miles, and the rest of the journey is a cakewalk. Lost Coast Trail stays mostly flat along the grassy ridges, with glimpses of beautiful bluffs and steep cliffs. The final 2 miles descend to Usal Camp, which features a big beach, a meadow, and Usal Creek.