Advertisement: This is a backpacking trip along the coast. You will hike through a variety of sand, pebble and stone beaches and coastal flats. You will see wildlife and wildflowers (depending on the season), for example elephant seals, sea otters, deer, all sorts of birds, bears, California poppies, and lilacs. You will cross creeks and rock promontories and explore an abandoned lighthouse. The distant views don’t change much (being a coastal hike) but the terrain near you will.
More photographs.
Difficulty: 25 mile hike; the southern 8 miles is entirely on sandy beach, which makes travel more strenuous. Minimal elevation changes. It’s easily possible to do in three days, but we took four (and hiked only 2 miles on the last day).
Preparation:
Tides
Look up tide tables, plan a route accordingly, and bring a copy on the trail. There are intertidal sections (marked on the BLM map) impassable at high tide: a point at Punta Gorda, 4 miles between Sea Lion Gulch and Randall Creek at the northern end of Spanish Flat, and 4.5 miles between the southern end of Miller Flat and Gitchell Creek. We crossed the former well after high tide. We started crossing the latter 4.5 mile stretch after high tide at roughly +4.5 ft; we got a little wet crossing some promontories but it never felt dangerous since we could always wait a little longer. My suggestion is to try to time your intertidal crossings right after high tide as it is receding and wait if necessary.
Creek crossings
There are many creek crossings. If you bring sticks they will be easier. You can often find branches to use as sticks.
Balanced rock bypass
There is a promontory which is not passable at most tides. It’s right before the Cooksie Spur Trail junction, and you will see a rock balanced on top of a large rock promontory (this is the impassable promontory). From the north, right after you cross the creek before the junction, you should look for a path up the cliff. It’s steep and not marked, but it should feel totally safe. From the south, the bypass is marked.
Ticks
The coastal flat sections (Spanish Flat, Miller Flat) are often bushwhack-y. Long pants are recommended, and do tick checks every so often. Tuck pants into socks and shirt into pants.
Weather
The weather is reportedly very variable. Our trip was in April on an average rain year. We were lucky to not have rain but it looked possible at many times.
Regulations
Self-issue permit at trailhead. Bear canisters required.
Summary: I really enjoyed this hike. I liked the early morning mist on the beach and the variety of terrain we hiked through. The wildlife and wildflowers were an especially nice touch, with the poppies blooming on the flats. A herd of deer passed our campsite on Miller Flat early in the morning, and a sea otter scrambled down an unnamed creek past us while we waited for the tide to recede. The mercurial weather lent the us a variety of moods on our trip. The ocean washes up all sorts of stuff and I’m not sure what half of it was, but it was fun to speculate nonetheless. 5/5
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| View from the abandoned Punta Gorda lighthouse |
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| Elephant seals passed out drunk from that giant bottle of whiskey |
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| The early morning mist at Randall Creek |
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| Wildflowers bloom on Spanish Flat |
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| Waves crash violently on a stony beach. |
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| A sea otter scrambles down an unnamed creek where we wait out the tide |
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| A view of coastal mountains as clouds clear and the tide recedes |
More photographs.
Difficulty: 25 mile hike; the southern 8 miles is entirely on sandy beach, which makes travel more strenuous. Minimal elevation changes. It’s easily possible to do in three days, but we took four (and hiked only 2 miles on the last day).
Preparation:
Tides
Look up tide tables, plan a route accordingly, and bring a copy on the trail. There are intertidal sections (marked on the BLM map) impassable at high tide: a point at Punta Gorda, 4 miles between Sea Lion Gulch and Randall Creek at the northern end of Spanish Flat, and 4.5 miles between the southern end of Miller Flat and Gitchell Creek. We crossed the former well after high tide. We started crossing the latter 4.5 mile stretch after high tide at roughly +4.5 ft; we got a little wet crossing some promontories but it never felt dangerous since we could always wait a little longer. My suggestion is to try to time your intertidal crossings right after high tide as it is receding and wait if necessary.
Creek crossings
There are many creek crossings. If you bring sticks they will be easier. You can often find branches to use as sticks.
Balanced rock bypass
There is a promontory which is not passable at most tides. It’s right before the Cooksie Spur Trail junction, and you will see a rock balanced on top of a large rock promontory (this is the impassable promontory). From the north, right after you cross the creek before the junction, you should look for a path up the cliff. It’s steep and not marked, but it should feel totally safe. From the south, the bypass is marked.
Ticks
The coastal flat sections (Spanish Flat, Miller Flat) are often bushwhack-y. Long pants are recommended, and do tick checks every so often. Tuck pants into socks and shirt into pants.
Weather
The weather is reportedly very variable. Our trip was in April on an average rain year. We were lucky to not have rain but it looked possible at many times.
Regulations
Self-issue permit at trailhead. Bear canisters required.
Summary: I really enjoyed this hike. I liked the early morning mist on the beach and the variety of terrain we hiked through. The wildlife and wildflowers were an especially nice touch, with the poppies blooming on the flats. A herd of deer passed our campsite on Miller Flat early in the morning, and a sea otter scrambled down an unnamed creek past us while we waited for the tide to recede. The mercurial weather lent the us a variety of moods on our trip. The ocean washes up all sorts of stuff and I’m not sure what half of it was, but it was fun to speculate nonetheless. 5/5
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