Plenty of Room for a View Along Coastal Trail

The land we now call Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, about 225 miles north of San Francisco, has long been recognized as something special.

During the late 1960s, the great Catholic theologian, Thomas Merton, felt that the Needle Rock area would be an ideal place for a life of prayer and contemplation, and talked of establishing a monastic community there.

The state park, along with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s King Range National Conservation Area to the north, comprise California’s Lost Coast, 60 miles of wild shoreline in northern Mendocino and southern Humboldt counties.

One reason the coast is “lost” is because no highways cross it. So rugged is this country, highway engineers were forced to route Highway 1 many miles inland, and the region has remained sparsely settled and unspoiled. Its magnificent vistas and varied terrain--dense forests, prairies, coastal bluffs, beaches--reward the hardy explorer.

Usal Road meanders along the northern boundary of Sinkyone Wilderness State Park. The road, lined with foxgloves and monkey flowers, ferns and blackberry bushes, has changed little since Jack London and his wife drove it in a horse-drawn carriage on a trip from San Francisco to Eureka in 1911. Clearings and other openings along the route afford spectacular views.

The sea is an overwhelming presence here, and its rhythmic sounds provide a thunderous background for a walk along land’s end. The sky is filled with gulls and pelicans; sea lions and harbor seals gather at Little Jackass Cove, and the California gray whale migration passes near shore during winter and early spring.

A herd of Roosevelt elk roams the park. These wondrous creatures were once common here and in the King Range, but were exterminated locally in the last century. The Roosevelt elk that lucky visitors see today are “extras” relocated from Prairie Creek State Park.

Lost Coast Trail travels the length of Sinkyone Wilderness State Park north through the King Range National Conservation Area. The 60-mile trail would make an ideal weeklong backpacking adventure.

A word of caution, however: U.S. Army troops, in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies, have been raiding suspected marijuana gardens in the King Range. While such gardens are rarely found near hiking trails, the wilderness visitor might be disconcerted to observe low-flying helicopters and heavily armed soldiers.

While Operation Green Sweep goes on, I’d recommend two nights and three days to hike the 20 miles of rugged coast between Usal and the Needle Rock Visitors Center.

The portion of the Lost Coast Trail detailed in today’s hike explores the northernmost, and most easily accessible, portion of the state park. It’s a relatively easy introduction to a challenging trail.

Directions to trailhead: From Highway 101, take either the Garberville or Redway exit and proceed to “downtown” Redway, which is three miles north of Garberville on Business 101. Turn west on Briceland Road. After 12 miles, fork left to Whitethorn. A mile or so past the hamlet of Whitethorn (don’t blink or you’ll miss it), the pavement ends and you continue on a potholed dirt (or mud) road for 3 1/2 miles to a junction called Four Corners.

To the left is Usal Road, to the right is a road climbing into the King Range National Conservation Area. Proceed straight ahead 3 1/2 miles to the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park Visitors Center.

Maps and information are available at the center.

The hike: Begin at the Needle Rock Visitors Center. During the 1920s, a small settlement and shipping point were established at Needle Rock. A dairy operation, complete with large stockyards, stood on the bluffs. Around the stockyards stood a store, hotel, school and living quarters for the families of the dairymen. The Calvin Cooper Stewart family were the main residents of Needle Rock, and today their ranch house serves as the visitors center.

Walk up the park road toward the old barn. You’ll notice a trail leading to the bluff edge, then down to the beach. Famed Needle Rock is a short distance up the dark-sand beach.

Join Lost Coast Trail, which leads behind the barn and dips in and out of a gully. You’ll pass Bear Camp, one of the state park’s environmental (or walk-in) campsites. A quarter-mile of travel brings you to Streamside Camp, another of the park’s primitive--but superb--camps.

You’ll soon reach a junction with a trail climbing to the east. This is Low Gap Trail, which ascends the coastal bluffs and crosses the park road. The trail plunges into the forest, travels along Low Gap Creek and, after a stiff climb, reaches Usal Road and Low Gap Camp.

Lost Coast Trail, your route, continues along the lovely bluffs to Low Gap Creek, heads inland briefly, then crosses a bridge over the creek. The path heads toward a stand of eucalyptus, which shelters the Jones Beach campsites.

The trail forks. The left fork leads a quarter-mile to Jones Beach. If it’s low tide, you can walk back to the trailhead via the beach.

Lost Coast Trail proceeds with the right fork and soon descends into a canyon. You cross two creeks, which drain an area that can be very marshy during the rainy season. You walk near the edge of a cattail-lined pond, climb to higher ground, then pass a second pond.

Soon you are treated to a bird’s-eye view of Whale Gulch. At the mouth of Whale Gulch is a small lagoon and piles of driftwood logs. The trail descends into the gulch.

A newly constructed section of the Lost Coast Trail travels inland along the south wall of Whale Gulch. Eventually, this trail crosses the gulch and heads up Chemise Mountain to join the trail system in the King Range National Conservation Area.

After sitting on a driftwood log awhile and contemplating the Lost Coast, return to the trailhead the way you came.

Lost Coast Trail Where: Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, about 225 miles north of San Francisco. Length: 2 miles round trip to Jones Beach; 4 1/2 miles round trip to Whale Gulch. Terrain: Steep coastal mountains. Highlights: Some of wildest shoreline in California. Degree of Diffculty: Easy. Precautions: State park road may be impassable in winter. For more information: Call Humboldt Redwoods State Park at (707) 946-2311.