Lost Coast Roads

[The High Plains Traveler]

I had a chance to drive California's "Lost Coast" last month. This is the area around Cape Mendocino - the westernmost point in the state as well as (my interest) a geological landmark, the "triple point" among the North American, Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates. (Part of my trip was chasing the San Andreas Fault a little further south).  This was, as I read in some of the local promotional literature, the area where early 20th Century highway engineers realized that the main travel route which became U.S. 101 had to go further inland due to the physical limitations of the area. Thus it remains a somewhat isolated and undeveloped region.

From Eureka going south you leave U.S. 101 on CA-211 toward Ferndale. This state route is actually poorly marked and we only saw a couple of 211 markers. Looking at a 1930s map of California, it appears that the state intended this to be the north end of CA-1, and those early maps show roads extending along the coast extending northwest from today's CA-1 route that now ends at U.S. 101 near Garberville.

From Ferndale, the Mattole Road is the route to follow, named for the Mattole River, which is followed for a stretch of this road. From what I could tell, the road is basically the same alignment as the 1930s except for the addition of pavement. It has numerous turns and steep hills leading toward the coast. I also noted that vehicles are advised to carry snow chains (!), which surprised me considerably. I wouldn't have expected the relatively low coastal mountains of the northern California coast to accumulate that much snow.

After a distance, you reach the coast near Cape Mendocino. Forget about walking on the beach, though, as it's private land used for cattle grazing. (There is a park on the shore that is accessed from Petrolia.)  This was about a 70 mile loop in all, and along the way there was no cell phone signal nor any opportunity to purchase fuel. The only town of any consequence was Petrolia. At the hamlet of Honeydew, a road continues down the coast, though not along it, toward the coastal village of Shelter Cove. We didn't have time to go that far south. I think the roads indicated on my historic maps that connected Shelter Cove to today's CA-1 are closed. Instead, we headed northeast from Honeydew toward U.S. 101 in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The road winds among redwoods as you pass through the park and led me to believe that "no redwoods were harmed in the building of this road."

A far more isolated piece of the California coast than I would have expected. And, a memorable drive. In a sense, I'm very glad that CA-1 did not ultimately get constructed into this area.

[Alps]

Beautiful post. You've given me some ideas for when I'm back there in 2013.