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 Struggle for Redwood National Park
The Redwood Highway, Highway 101 north from San Francisco to the Oregon border, represented a substantial engineering achievement when it opened in 1917, negotiating the twisting, slide-prone Eel River Canyon and the steep coastal cliffs south of Crescent City. The road’s most significant accomplishment, however, was opening California’s north coast to mass tourism. Among the…
Watch Out for That Wave!
The waves we see dashing against the coast start hundreds of miles offshore. As winds blow across the ocean’s surface, they create waves of various sizes. A wave’s size depends on wind velocity, duration and the distance the wind blows across the open ocean. Waves break, showing a churning crest of foam along their leading…
California Lighthouses
CALIFORNIA’S RUGGED 1200-MILE COASTLINE has long been renowned for the fury of its hazardous waters and the deception of its offshore reefs and rocks. Only after California entered the United States in 1850 was any effort made to provide navigational aids. In 1854 Alcatraz Island Lighthouse in San Francisco Bay became the Golden State’s first,…
The Native Californians and the Center of the World
Before contact with white civilization, the abundant natural resources of California supported one of the highest population densities in North America. Most estimates place the California native population around 250,000, some argue two or three times that, about 10% of the native U.S. population. Like today’s pattern, the highest concentration of people lived on or…
Through-Hiking the CCT
If you’re contemplating a long distance hike along the California Coastal Trail, you need to consider many things and do a lot of planning to prepare for your trip. If you plan to hike the entire CCT in one continuous trek, your planning and preparations must be particularly detailed. Coastwalk’s 1996 “Whole Hike” took 96…