The beach road also leads to the trailhead for the famous Fern Canyon. This narrow gorge, lined with living-walllike displays of ferns and mosses, is a World Heritage Site and became known to movie lovers in Steven Spielberg’s “The Lost World: Jurassic Park.” From May 15 to September 15, the park limits the number of visitors to protect this canyon’s natural resources, which means day-use reservations also are needed to visit Gold Bluffs Beach. Learn more at
For many in the Bay Area, Humboldt County is that far north part of California, a place known for redwoods, a now-legal cannabis industry and a historical embrace of adventurers and iconoclasts.
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But the county also is home to some of the most gorgeous beaches in the state. More than 100 of California’s 840 miles of coastline run through Humboldt County, from the rugged shoreline of Redwood National Park to the isolated shores of the Lost Coast.
The county’s most accessible beaches, to the south and north of Humboldt Bay, rival some of Southern California’s most famous for offering miles and miles of broad, white sand, all set against the backdrop of mountains and forests. Some Humboldt beaches feature nationally recognized sand dunes, while still others feel like hidden gems, located in coves at the bottom of steep paths and nestled between cliffs and crashing waves.
What adds to the beauty of Humboldt County beaches is that they are, well, lonely, but in the best way possible. Depending on the day or season, you might easily find yourself enjoying an entire beach to yourself, with all the solitude and beauty that comes with so much uninterrupted nature.
Humboldt County is far enough away – a six-hour drive from the Bay Area up winding and sometime two-lane Highway 101 – that it doesn’t get the crowds of Mendocino or Monterey. With a population of 135,000, the county also is one of the least densely populated in the state, despite the existence of two bustling towns: Eureka, the one-time “timber capital of California” and the largest coastal town between San Francisco and Portland; and Arcata, the hippie-chic home of Cal Poly Humboldt
Beaches in Humboldt don’t necessarily draw crowds because the Pacific Ocean here comes with advisories about frigid temperatures, rough surf and sneaker waves. Summer days in Humboldt also tend to mean fog and wind near the ocean, so local families head to inland beaches along the Eel, Mad or Trinity rivers if they want sun, heat and water fun.
That leaves the many beaches along Humboldt’s coast wide open for people who don’t mind bundling up a bit. Surfers have their favorites, of course, and everyone else can still enjoy picnics, beach walks, horseback rides or simply gather with friends for summer bonfires.
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Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
