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
Oil Sure Can Make a Mess of the Coast
In 1969 the Santa Barbara oil spill occurred when an offshore oil well blew out, dumping 4.2 million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific. Beaches turned black and were littered with dead birds. No waves rose from the black shiny water. It was eight months before anyone could use the beach again. This isolated…
The Battle for Diablo Canyon
Forty thousand people gathered in June 1979 to protest the construction of PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Nuclear power plant. Governor Jerry Brown addressed the huge crowd in a rousing speech at this largest event to question whether a nuclear plant should be allowed to operate on an earthquake fault. PG&E eventually won the war when the…
The Volcanic Peaks of San Luis Obispo County
Morro Rock rises 576 feet like a sentinel above the Coastal Trail and the mouth of Morro Bay, visible for miles on a clear day. In 1542 Cabrillo named the rock “El Moro’ (the Moor) for its dark countenance. But when Portola camped nearby in 1769, he noted the presence of”a rounded morro” (promontory) at…
Will the Hearst Corporation Get Its Way with the San Luis Obispo Coast?
The Hearst Corporation still owns 77,000 acres along the coast in northern San Luis Obispo County despite their donation of Hearst Castle to state parks in 1958. While the Hearsts have been praised for keeping this land in a natural state, this has not always been their intention. In the 1 960s the Hearst Corporation…
The Elephant Seals of Piedras Blancas
Largest of the world’s seals, the elephant seal’s name derives from the male’s huge size, up to 22 feet long and three tons in weight, and long drooping nose, or proboscis. The females weigh up to 2000 pounds and grow to 12 feet long. By 1868 the scientific community thought the northern elephant seal was…
How Big Sur Almost Became a National Park and Why It Didn’t
In autumn 1977 Gary Koeppel, a Big Sur gallery owner, learned that some affluent Monterey Peninsula residents led by Ansel Adams wanted to make Big Sur a national park. What irked Koeppel and the Big Sur residents he told was that the park advocates had held secret meetings with county, state and federal officials. An…
Sea Otters
While sea otters fascinate, even enchant people with their cute faces and amusing antics, they are a remarkable and extremely specialized aquatic animal. Southern sea otters inhabit the giant kelp forests growing just offshore along the California coast, while two other sea otter subspecies live in the kelp beds of southern Alaska and northeastern Asia.…
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,…
Watch for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
The California Coastal Trail provides some of the best whale watching in the state. If you hike the coast between November and May, you’ll have excellent chances to see some of the 24,000 California gray whales that swim the west coast each year. If you hike CCT in summer or autumn, you might spot humpback…