My Rural Travelogue (Part XXXVI): Southern Humboldt County, California and the Lost Coast

Along California's Lost Coast, Humboldt County

Last month, I had the opportunity to visit some time in parts of Humboldt County I'd not previously spent time (though I had passed through this segment of county, on Highway 101) over the decades.   I headed to the King Range to hike the "Lost Coast," a segment of California's coast so named because it is so rugged that when highway planners were building Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, they were essentially forced to divert the road inland in northern Mendocino County to join the 101, which traverses California north to south, east of the coastal range.   

Peg House in Leggett, built in 1961

The communities along this stretch of 101 are Leggett, Garberville, Miranda, and others.  Throughout this stretch, the Highway weaves through redwoods at Richardson Grove and Avenue of the Giants.  

Signs for Shelter Cove businesses, including health care

Peg House, Leggett

From Garberville, one can head west on a narrow state highway to Shelter Cove, which is the southern terminus of the Lost Coast trail.   Until I got there, I hadn't realized there was a town of sorts at Shelter Cove, but there is, with a small grocery store, volunteer fire department (of course), and lots of homes rising above the coast, some nestled high up the mountains nestled in trees.  

Lighthouse at Shelter Cove

The quickest way to get from one end of the Lost Coast tail to the other is to travel a Humboldt County road, Wilder Ridge Road, that runs primarily north to south on the east side of the King Range. 

Honeydew, California

 That road takes you through the communities of Ettersburg, where there used to be a school, and Honeydew, where there is a store (with a post office inside) and a shade-tree mechanic.  There's also an attractive and fairly new looking school.

Honeydew General Store, which houses the U.S. Post Office 

Auto mechanic in Honeydew, right next to the General Store

Bridge over the Mattole River in Honeydew

A large--and legal--cannabis cultivation facility in Honeydew

My traveling companions were not particularly pleased when I asked to stop for photos of the local places, so I didn't get as many along the way as I would have liked.  One photo I missed out on getting was of a new, large store north of Honeydew, which was built to sell not only groceries, but all sorts of growing supplies.  Now, with the traditional (illicit) cannabis growers squeezed out of the business, our local guides told us that the new store may not open at all.  

At the north of the road, past Honeydew, one can travel north to Petrolia or had back west to the coast, to he Mattole River trailhead, the northern terminus of the Lost Coast trail.  

You can read many other posts about Humboldt County (or at least mentioning it) by both me and my former students, here.  

The bus connecting Eureka and Arcata to points south, including to Amtrak,
stops in Leggett, by the Peg House.

The Peg House has a lot of good food, but I most
recommend the wild blackberry sundae.