Lost Coast Challenge

Day 1 – Drive to trailhead, pack-check, overnight on beach

The Lost Coast is well named, as our first challenge is just getting there! We will meet at 8am at REI Corte Madera in the San Francisco Bay Area (Marin County, North Bay) before setting out on the 4.5-hour drive to Shelter Cove which is the ultimate endpoint of our trek. At Shelter Cove, we will have lunch, complete a pack check, orientation, and safety talk, before loading onto the shuttle for the northern terminus and our starting point, Mattole Beach. After the 2-hour shuttle ride, we will set up camp, have dinner and enjoy the sunset.

Day 2 – Mattole Beach to Spanish Creek

Trail: Mixture of soft sand beach, small boulder fields and hard pack trail

We start our journey on the sand and hike down the barren beach for 3 miles before climbing onto the bluff above. Here we will come across the abandoned Punta Gorda Lighthouse. The hard trail continues for two miles before dropping back onto the beach and rocks. This 3.5-mile section is impassable at high tide so we will time hiking it during low tide. An early afternoon walk on good trail will get us to the peaceful beaches near Spanish Creek.

Day 3 – Spanish Creek to Shipman Creek

Trail: Mostly hard pack trail on a low bluff above the beach with some sand and rock sections

The majority of day 2 will be spent on the bluffs and dunes overlooking the beach. Hiking on a well-tread, hard trail with small sections down on the beach and rock. This 8-mile hike crosses many streams flowing down from the mountains and offers unparalleled vistas all the way down the coast. We’ll pass Big Flat, the largest plateau along the trail and a popular destination for skydivers and surfers. Tides and permit allowing, we’ll continue on past Miller Flat then back to the beach for camp at the small cove of Shipman Creek. Located in an impassible zone, the tides will lock us in for the night.

Day 4 – Shipman Creek to Shelter Cove, Drive Home

Trail: Mixture of soft sand beach, small boulder fields and hard pack trail

Our last day remains on the beach and rocks for most of the hike. With another large high tide impassable zone, we will time this day to coincide with low tide. With lightened packs, these last 6.5 miles will seem to go by faster than expected until we find ourselves back at the van in Shelter Cove. After a well-earned hot meal in town, we load up into the van by midday for the drive back to the San Francisco Bay Area.