FJ Cruisers of Northern California

Lost Coast Needle Rock

Just a few pictures from camping along the Lost Coast. Great weather and a beautiful

area to explore. To get there, I topped off the gas tank in Garberville and took the Shelter Cove Rd to Chemise Rd. At the Four Corners junction, headed down the Bear Harbor dirt road for 3.5 miles to Needle Rock State Park, part of the Sinkyone Wilderness area. From there you can hike the 22-mile Lost Coast Trail that parallels the coastline traversing steep mountains and sloping prairies.

The Park supports a rich diversity of wildlife. We read the warnings: “Be extremely careful around the majestic Roosevelt Elk”. We encountered them on the Road and trails just about everywhere. We stayed in what the Park calls “The Barn”. You can rent this for $5.00 dollars more than what it costs for tent camping. It’s a first come basis on the rental. As we were doing day hikes it worked out great. When leaving, we headed south, driving down the USAL Road. From the Four Corners junction it’s a 24 mile trip which took us about 2.5 hours. The road was a easy drive in the FJC this time of year. I would like to come back to the USAL Road later in the fall/winter.…a little weather should make for a real slip and slide.

Enjoy the pictures.

Steve

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Permalink Reply by gringo on September 5, 2011 at 2:44pm

wow, that coast area looks awesome. adding to my to-do-list that never gets done ;->

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Permalink Reply by Boss73 on September 5, 2011 at 5:16pm

Look like a very pretty spot indeed..

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Permalink Reply by Sonof40 on September 5, 2011 at 5:23pm

Thanks for posting. Looks like a do'er.

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Permalink Reply by jaxun on September 6, 2011 at 10:15am

I was just asking about Usal a couple months ago here. Can't wait to get up that way, though it'll have to be a 3 or 4 day weekend with the amount of driving involved from Santa Rosa.

The Usal Beach campground looks super quiet. http://www.camping-usa.com/campdetails/24780/

Mattole looks like another remote one worth checking out... http://www.camping-usa.com/campdetails/24708/

Thanks for the pix!