A Backpacker's Guide to the California Coastal Trail
A detailed guide to backpacking and supply availability on the northern and central portions of the CCT, by Bernie Krause; photos by Stacy and Bernie Krause
Through-Hiking the CCT
Thoughts on through-hiking the trail, ways to do it and basic essentials for a successful trip.
Hiking the Coast from Hostel to Hostel
Jessica Gauvreau provides notes on her 2008 walk of the CCT north to San Francisco with a day pack and hostel stays.
Experience the California coast!
Two men take an exploratory walk of the coastline from Oregon to San Francisco in 1995, by Dinesh Desai.
Impressions of the California Coastal Trail
Two experienced backpackers take on the CCT. Here are their impressions and photos--a walk in process, by Bernie Krause; photos by Stacy and Bernie Krause
Other Useful Links
Agencies, Land Trusts, & Trail Organizations
Photos of the coast from the California Records Project
GPX file from 2016 MoJo thru hike. More about their adventure on the MoJo Coastwalk page.
Hiker Guide Articles
The Russian River
World class salmon fishery, vacation playground for San Francisco, giant redwoods, Stumptown, and sewer discharge all help describe the beautiful river that flows 110 miles from the hot inland Mendocino County hills before pouring into the ocean near the village of Jenner in Sonoma County. This diverse river flows through chaparral and oak woodlands, fir…
The Russians at Fort Ross
One of the most unusual places in California perches atop a bluff overlooking the wild and scenic Sonoma coast beside a small sheltered cove. Fort Ross State Historic Park takes you back to March 1812 when 25 Russians and 80 native Alaskans dropped anchor in the cove and established what they hoped would be a…
The San Andreas Fault System
The California coast as we know it has been and continues to be created by the collision of two immense tectonic plates, the North American continental plate and the Pacific oceanic plate. The head-on collision of the two plates about 150 million years ago created the Sierra Nevada Range. Approximately 20 million years ago, the…
The CCT Needs a Trail Corridor off Highway 1 Around Rockport
The south end of the Lost Coast doesn’t just begin at Usal. You can already feel the Lost Coast (and see its King Range heart on a clear day) five miles north of Fort Bragg. When you get to Westport, you’re already on the Lost Coast. Magnificent Highway 1 follows the California’s coast for 7…
California’s Lost Coast: Worthy of Wilderness Protection
The rugged and remote Lost Coast offers North America’s largest span of pristine beach and shoreline on the Pacific Coast outside of Alaska and Canada. Public lands here include 60,000-acre King Range National Conservation Area and 7400-acre Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, together stretching 40 miles along the coast. If you study the maps however, you’ll…
The Cape Mendocino Triple Junction and the Amazing Uplift of 1992
At Cape Mendocino, California’s Lost Coast thrusts westward against the driving California Current. The San Andreas Fault Zone trends west from its northernmost onshore extension at Shelter Cove to end as it joins the Mendocino Fracture Zone where the triple-plate junction of the North American, Pacific and Gorda Plates all meet. Directly offshore from the…
The Discovery and Settlement of Humboldt Bay
The Algonkian Wiyot people were the original residents of the Humboldt Bay region, inhabiting Pacific and bay shores from lower Mad River on the north to lower Eel River on the south, thriving on the marine abundance of this rich and gentle coastal strip. Their mythology’s depiction of abalone as the first people confirms the…
The Teamwork of Preserving the Coast
Protecting and preserving the California coast, with its 1200-mile shore spanning fifteen counties, is a huge job. It requires ongoing efforts from many governments, agencies, private nonprofit groups, and individuals. Many of them have helped create the California Coastal Trail. Redwood National and State Parks provide one excellent example of such efforts. The California State…
The Vibrant and Resilient Yurok Culture
The Klamath River, California’s second largest, and its abundant fisheries provide the central focus for Yurok civilization. In fact the river iS so important to the Yuroks that their language traditionally expressed directions as upstream and downstream rather than the cardinal points used by most cultures. This Was true even along the coast where settlements…