California’s LOST COAST HEADLANDS: Hike to Guthrie Creek

The Lost Coast in northern California has some of the state’s most spectacular scenery--ranging from alpine forests and thick redwood groves to rolling rangeland and rugged beaches.  In mid-October, when I was in Humboldt County for the bi-annual Children’s Authors Festival, I had the chance to visit the Lost Coast twice–first during the festival when I was a guest at two small rural schools and talked about my books and what it is like to be an author, and then after the festival finished, hiking with a friend on the beautiful Guthrie Creek trail.

For our hike, we started from the town of Ferndale, driving along a very narrow, winding road to the Guthrie Creek trail head, about a half hour’s journey. When we arrived, we were the only car in the small parking lot, and, in fact, we had not passed any other traffic along our way.  One of the attractions of the Lost Coast is its remoteness–which means that you are not likely to run into other people.

The morning had started with thick fog coming in from the ocean, but by the time we set off down the path, it was starting to clear. Below us, Guthrie Creek made its way to the sea.  In the distance down the coast we could see the huge rock that is Cape Mendocino.  White-crowned sparrows were hopping about in the bushes and purple asters bloomed along the edge of the path.

The hike to the beach goes along a well-maintained path that zag-zags along the side of the hill with views of the beach and coastal vegetation.  It is not a strenuous climb.  It takes about an hour.

Directions to the Guthrie Creek Trailhead from Highway 101
Exit Highway 101 at the Ferndale exit. Travel west towards Ferndale for five miles. From Main Street, turn right onto Ocean Avenue. Continue on Ocean Avenue for seven miles to the trailhead for Fleener Creek. The road will alternate between dirt and pavement.
Continue past the Fleener Creek Trailhead south approximately 2 miles and look for the trailhead to Guthrie Creek on your right. From the parking lot to the beach below is 1 mile.

For more information about the hike, click here.
For directions to a scenic drive of the Lost Coast, click here.  The drive, which takes about four hours, starts in Ferndale and goes through the towns of Petrolia, Honeydew and back to Highway 101 through the redwoods in Humboldt State Park.