Lost Coast Trail
Key figures
Length
- Stated
- 39.6 km, the stated length (Bureau of Land Management)
- Map line
- 39.3 km, OpenStreetMap along the official track
- Used for
- The charts on this page, and comparing trails in the search
- 39.6km
Difficulty
- What
- How hard the trail is, in three ways: the terrain, the climate in season and the length of the days
- Scale
- Easy to Hard, with the same thresholds for every trail; each takes its hardest measure
- Keep in mind
- It describes the trail, not how it will feel to you: that depends on your fitness, experience, pack and the weather you get
- Terrain: DemandingNatural ground: 92 %
- Climate: Moderate in Sep–NovWet days: 12 days (November)
- Effort: EasyAverage day: ≈ 3 h 45 (an average day over 3 days)
- Terrain: Demanding; Climate: Moderate in Sep–Nov; Effort: Easy
Suggested
- No stages
- No official stages: hikers choose their own camps
- Source
- Bureau of Land Management
- 3days
Per day
- How
- The length and the ascent over the suggested 3 days
- Source
- Bureau of Land Management
- Ascent
- The terrain model's estimate (≈): no source states the climbs
- 13.2km· about 150 m ↑
- Season
When are you going?
The page rates its climate for them.
Landscape
- Source
- ESA WorldCover satellite land cover, along the main route
- Grassland and shrubs: 46%
- Water, snow and ice: 26%
- Bare rock and sand: 20%
- Forest: 8%
- Farmland and villages: 1%
- Mainly Grassland
Photos
Photos from Wikimedia Commons by Tony Webster, John Leszczynski, blmcalifornia, Kurt Minard and J Doll; each photo's licence in the gallery
Location
- Country
- United States
- Regions
- California
- Start
- Mattole
- Finish
- Black Sands Beach
- Route type
- Point to point
- Permit
- Required
- Travel hubs
- California Redwood Coast–Humboldt County Airport (ACV)114.6 km by road · 151 min
- Protected areas
- King Range National Conservation Area
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management, King Range National Conservation AreaOfficial website
- GPX
- GPX trackOur tracing from OpenStreetMap
- Trail
- Start
- Finish
- Contour lines
Difficulty
Terrain
- Rates
- How hard is the ground to walk: the path, the climbing, the steep bits, the ground underfoot?
- How
- Rated over the whole main route.
- Level
- The hardest measure sets it
- Path grade
- the trail's SAC grade, stated, converted or estimated
- EasyT1
- ModerateT2
- DemandingT3
- HardT4 to T6
- Climbing
- the stated ascent over the stated length (else the terrain model's over the map line)
- Easyunder 15 m per km
- Moderate15–30 m
- Demanding30–50 m
- Hard50 m or more
- Steep stretches
- share of the route steeper than 15 %, up or down (terrain model)
- Easyunder 5 %
- Moderate5–15 %
- Demanding15–30 %
- Hard30 % or more
- Natural ground
- share on footpaths and trails (OpenStreetMap); never Hard on its own
- Easyunder a third
- Moderatea third to two thirds
- Demandingtwo thirds or more
Demanding
- estimated T2
SAC hiking scale
- This trail
- T2 (our estimate)
- Basis
- The BLM calls the northern section moderately level with difficult terrain: most of it on sand, cobbles and boulders along the beach, with three stretches (near Punta Gorda, Sea Lion Gulch to Randall Creek, Miller Flat to Gitchell Creek) impassable at high tide, so the walk has to be planned round the tide tables. Rough coastal walking without climbing difficulty (T2).
- Scale
- The Swiss Alpine Club's hiking scale, from T1 (easy) to T6 (very hard)
- Why
- Trails rate difficulty in many local scales, or only in words; we translate each into this one so trails compare
- Keep in mind
- An estimate: how hard a trail feels depends on your fitness, experience, pack and the weather
- T1 · Hiking
- Well-made paths, mostly flat or gently sloping. No risk of falling; trainers are enough.
- T2 · Mountain hiking
- A continuous path, steep in places, where a fall can't be ruled out. Be sure-footed; wear hiking boots.
- T3 · Demanding mountain hiking
- The path is not always visible; exposed spots may have chains or ropes, and you may need your hands for balance.
- T4 · Alpine hiking
- Often no path. Hands are needed in places, terrain is exposed, and there can be easy snowfields.
- T5 · Demanding alpine hiking
- Mostly pathless, with easy climbing and exposed, demanding terrain. Needs alpine experience.
- T6 · Difficult alpine hiking
- Pathless, very exposed, with climbing and glaciers. For experienced mountaineers only.
- Climbingestimated 12 m per km
- Steep stretches1 % of the way
- Natural ground92 %
Climate
- Rates
- How hot, cold, wet and windy does it get?
- How
- From 30 years of daily weather (ERA5), rated per month. Without months picked: the trail's best run of at least two season months, each measure at its hardest month. Pick months in the search to rate it for yours.
- Level
- The hardest measure sets it
- Heat
- mean daily high at the lowest point
- Easyunder 22 °C
- Moderate22–27 °C
- Demanding27–32 °C
- Hard32 °C or more
- Cold
- mean nightly low at the highest point
- Easy8 °C or more
- Moderate3–8 °C
- Demanding−2 to 3 °C
- Hardbelow −2 °C
- Wet days
- days a month with 1 mm of rain or more, the wetter of both points
- Easyunder 10
- Moderate10–14
- Demanding14–18
- Hard18 or more
- Snow
- days a month with 1 cm of snow or more at the highest point
- Easyunder 1 day
- Moderate1–3 days
- Demanding3–6 days
- Hard6 days or more
- Wind
- mean of the day's strongest wind (hourly mean, 10 m above ground), the windier of both points; over land: a point whose 25 km weather cell is mostly sea takes the nearest mostly-land cell's
- Easyunder 15 km/h
- Moderate15–20 km/h
- Demanding20–25 km/h
- Hard25 km/h or more
Moderate in Sep–Nov
Outside the season (all year): facilities may be closed, and the weather is harder to plan for.
- Heat · September15 °C by day
- Cold · November10 °C at night
- Wet days · November12 days
- Snow · September0 days
- Wind · November19 km/h
Effort
- Rates
- How long are the days?
- How
- No official stages: rated by an average day at the fewest suggested days, the hardest plan a source suggests.
- Level
- The hardest measure sets it
- Average day
- walking time of an average day at the fewest suggested days (length and climbs divided evenly), by DIN 33466
- Easyup to 4 h
- Moderate4–6 h
- Demanding6–8 h
- Hardmore than 8 h
Easy
- Average day · an average day over 3 daysestimated 3 h 45
Climate
- Days in season · lowest point
- 11–15°C
- Nights in season · highest point
- 8–14°C
- Wet days a month
- 0–15
- Daylight
- 9.3–15.0h
| Month | Lowest point, day high / night low (°C) | Highest point, day high / night low (°C) | Wet days | Snow days | Frost nights at the highest point | Daylight (h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11.3 / 9.4 | 12.7 / 8.1 | 14.7 | 0 | 0 | 9.6 |
| February | 10.8 / 8.8 | 12.9 / 7.9 | 12.5 | 0 | 0 | 10.6 |
| March | 10.7 / 8.7 | 13.3 / 8 | 13.4 | 0 | 0 | 11.8 |
| April | 11.1 / 9.1 | 14.4 / 8.6 | 9.7 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 |
| May | 12.2 / 10.1 | 16.4 / 10.2 | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 14.4 |
| June | 13.4 / 11.2 | 18.5 / 11.7 | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| July | 14.3 / 11.9 | 20.8 / 13.1 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 14.8 |
| August | 15 / 12.5 | 21.3 / 13.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 13.8 |
| September | 15.1 / 12.6 | 20.9 / 13.1 | 1.9 | 0 | 0 | 12.4 |
| October | 13.9 / 11.7 | 18.2 / 11.5 | 5.6 | 0 | 0 | 11.1 |
| November | 12.6 / 10.7 | 14.6 / 9.5 | 11.5 | 0 | 0 | 9.9 |
| December | 11.5 / 9.6 | 12.6 / 8.1 | 15.2 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 |
Climate by month
- Source
- ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, averages for 1995–2024
- Places
- The trail's lowest and highest point, adjusted to their height
- Bars
- From the mean night low to the mean day high
- Wet days
- At least 1 mm of rain; snow days at least 1 cm of snow
- Daylight
- Sunrise to sunset in the middle of the month
- Shading
- The trail's season
Terrain
- Highest · lowest point
- 41m high0m low
Gradient
- Steepest climb
- 6 % (3°), 28 m up over 500 m
- Steepest descent
- −6 % (3°), 32 m down over 500 m
- Gradient
- Height per distance: 20 % is 20 m up per 100 m forward; 100 % is 45°, not 90°
- Keep in mind
- Averages over 500 m from a 30 m terrain model: steps and ladders within them are steeper
Gradient Angle Feels like 10 % 6° Noticeable on a road 20 % 11° A steep path, slow going 30 % 17° Very steep, often steps 100 % 45° Scrambling - 6% ↑−6% ↓
Steep stretches
- This trail
- 0 km up, 0.2 km down: the darkest parts of the profile
- Steep
- 15 % or more (9°, 15 m of height per 100 m), in 200 m stretches
- Why it matters
- Slow going uphill, hard on the knees downhill
- 0.2km
Surfaces
- Natural ground: 92%, 36.0 km. Earth, grass, rock and roots: footpaths and forest trails. Can be muddy after rain.
- Gravel: 8%, 3.1 km. Gravel, compacted and stony surfaces: mostly forest roads and farm tracks.
Terrain along the route
- Heights
- Copernicus terrain model, 30 m grid, every 100 m along the main route; in forests it reads the treetops
- Colours
- Each 200 m by its gradient in walking direction: climbs warm, descents violet, darker when steeper (to ±30 %)
- Ground
- The strip below, from OpenStreetMap; the 95% without a surface tag is read from the way type (footpaths natural, tracks gravel)
Landscape
Landscape along the route
- Source
- ESA WorldCover 2021, a 10 m satellite map
- Points
- Every 100 m along the main route; each takes the most common class within 30 m, so the path itself doesn't count as bare ground
- Groups
- Its eleven classes, folded into the six shown
- Keep in mind
- What the landscape looks like, not which plants grow there
Sleeping
Wild camping
- What
- Pitching a tent outside campsites. Whether it is allowed, restricted or prohibited depends on the land and the country; the rule for this trail is below the cards.
Allowed
Camping
- What
- Official campsites along the trail. Bring your own tent.
- Available
- Where the trail's own source lists it, or where OpenStreetMap maps 3 or more within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of the finish
Available
Campsites · 19 in OpenStreetMap
Huts
- What
- Mountain huts (often staffed, with meals) and unstaffed bivouac shelters, usually on the trail itself.
- Available
- Where the trail's own source lists it, or where OpenStreetMap maps 3 or more within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of the finish
None listed
Hostels
- What
- Dormitory beds for walkers: hostels, hiker lodges and pilgrim hostels.
- Available
- Where the trail's own source lists it, or where OpenStreetMap maps 3 or more within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of the finish
None listed
Rooms
- What
- Private rooms, usually in villages near the trail: B&Bs, guesthouses, hotels, farm stays and monastery guesthouses.
- Available
- Where the trail's own source lists it, or where OpenStreetMap maps 3 or more within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of the finish
None listed
Wild camping is allowed. Camping is allowed with a wilderness permit north of Telegraph Creek; none at the Black Sands Beach trailhead; avoid the private property along the trail.
Places to sleep along the route
- Ticks
- One per place to sleep: 19 campsites, 0 huts, 0 hostels, 0 guest houses
- Counted
- Within 1 km of the trail; no hotels or day shelters
- Shaded
- The longest stretch without any, km 0–7.1
- Source
- OpenStreetMap: it may miss places or list closed ones, so book or check locally
Water & Supply
Clean water
- This trail
- 39 km without clean water, km 0–39
- Rating
- Frequentup to 10 km
- Regularup to 20 km
- Scarcebeyond
- Counted
- Within 500 m: 0 taps, fountains and drinking springs
- Not counted
- The 16 places to sleep: Water sources are plentiful along the beach; filter all water. They count as any water
- Source
- OpenStreetMap; the counts include the approach and variant, the chart shows the main route
- 39kmScarce
Any water
- This trail
- 7.1 km without any water, km 0–7.1
- Rating
- Frequentup to 10 km
- Regularup to 20 km
- Scarcebeyond
- Counted
- Clean water, plus the 1 springs within 500 m and the places to sleep whose water isn't treated
- Keep in mind
- Spring water's quality is unknown: filter, boil or treat it, and expect some springs to run dry in late summer
- 7.1kmFrequent
Shops
- This trail
- 39 km without a shop, km 0–39
- Counted
- 0 supermarkets, convenience and general stores and petrol station shops, within 1 km of the trail or 3 km of the finish
- Keep in mind
- Small village shops are often missing in OpenStreetMap, and opening hours vary: check before relying on one
- 39km
Water and shops along the route
- Ticks
- One per place along the main route
- Counted
- Drinking water and springs within 500 m; refills at huts, hostels, guest houses and campsites within 500 m; shops within 1 km, or 3 km of the finish
- Shaded
- Each lane's longest stretch without. "Water" counts every kind and opens into one lane per kind, each with its own
- Source
- OpenStreetMap: it may miss places or list ones that have closed or run dry, so check locally
Wildlife
Wildlife
- Shows
- Animals that can be dangerous to hikers on this trail: large animals, venomous snakes, scorpions and spiders, ticks, and plants that harm on touch
- Level
- Ours, read from the official source
- High
- A bite of a species it calls common can be life-threatening within hours
- Moderate
- It warns of attacks or serious harm, or places the trail in a risk area for tick-borne encephalitis
- Low
- The harm is mostly minor or treatable, or avoidable by how you behave
- What to do
- From the official source: Bureau of Land Management
- Pictures
- Silhouettes from PhyloPic, not to scale, each maker named with its advice; the landscape is the trail's own, drawn by us