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 Fence and the Mexico-U.S. Border
The last three miles of the California Coastal Trail south from the town of Imperial Beach follow the beach adjacent to the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve (TRNERR). You can’t miss the end of the journey at Border Field State Park. A huge fence made out of foot-thick pipes descends from the bluff into…
Monterey: Center of Mexican California
Juan Cabrillo, a Portuguese captain sailing for Spain, entered Monterey Bay and claimed the area for Spain in 1542, just 50 years after Columbus’ maiden voyage to America. In 1602 Sebastian Vizcaino landed at Monterey, naming it for his patron, the count of Monterey. Vizcaino described a fertile land of mild climate with a “noble…
Unique Torrey Pines State Reserve
The Torrey pine reigns among the rarest of the rare plants on the California shore. Before the last ice age over 11,000 years ago, Torrey pine forests covered large areas of southern California. Then changing climatic conditions reduced the stands to one of the world’s smallest native distributions of any tree. A few thousand Torrey…
San Diego’s Coastal Rail Trail and Coastal Rail Service
A San Diego population dead set on outdoor recreation in the fine desert weather of southern California generates a high level of support for developing new recreational opportunities. The large numbers of bicyclists riding along congested Pacific Coast Highway and other roadways and in parks indicated the need for a bike trail system. A coalition…
Can the Last Wild Places Be Saved?
No one doubts that the car is king in America, and nowhere is it more greatly glorified than in southern California. There the ugly sibling of the car, unfettered urban and suburban sprawl-also held in high regard-grows cancerously into the fragile open spaces of valley and hill throughout the region. The octopus offspring of this…
Dana Point, Then and Now
In 1835 the trading brig Pilgrim sailed around Cape Horn in search of Spanish cowhides for the Boston shoe industry. The Pilgrim put in at what was then known as San Juan to trade with the Spanish mission, San Juan Capistrano. During the 1830s and 1840s, cowhide trading became such big business that the hides…
The Coastal Wetlands of Southern California
In the last 150 years, thousands of acres of California’s marine estuaries disappeared under the development of harbors, marinas, industrial building and housing tracts. Wetlands became the Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego Harbors. Downtown San Francisco and the Marina District sit atop bay mud, much of San Francisco Bay wetlands has been converted…
The Profits and Pleasures of the Harbor
The Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbors exemplify the huge L.A. economy. The harbors abut each other inside San Pedro Bay and are among the world’s biggest ports. The Port of Los Angeles alone throbs with commerce at 29 cargo terminals. In /998 it handled 3.2 million containers with a cargo value of $73.8 billion. Add about…
Los Angeles River Basin Past, Present & Future
Imagine the Los Angeles basin as a rolling grassland with the Los Angeles, San Gabriel and Santa Ana Rivers flowing through riparian lowlands of cottonwood, alder and sycamore. Further imagine marshes, lagoons and large lakes interlaced with thickets of willow, grape and brambles, chaparral and oak forests draping the hills, numerous springs bubbling to the…