Casual · 9 days · 9 nights
Northern California to the Olympic Peninsula · Ten photo stops
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Hike 
Roadside stop 
Attraction 
Technical outing Text-only exploration 
Sleep spot Sleep-planning corridorRoad routing is a planning aid. Verify closures, access, and conditions before driving.
The first day's GPS route begins here. Every later day begins at the prior night's sleeping location.
39.193200, -123.761000Make it your trip
The coast rewards improvisation. Follow every day if it fits, but let fog, tides, rain, trail closures, and a beach worth lingering on rewrite the schedule.
Road and hike times are planning estimates. Recheck weather, closures, permits, and access before departure.DedicationFor John Paul, whom I met while he was doing trail work in the redwoods. I may be misremembering his exact role, but I have not forgotten his recommendation to explore this stretch of coast and its trails. They remain some of my favorite places.
Plan your days
Daily stops, drives, and camps, with room for weather and rest.
Give Mendocino Headlands the first photo-led walk, then make the long transfer across the Oregon border. Arrive with a verified legal site in the broad Gold Beach–Brookings corridor rather than treating a coastal pullout as permission.
10 photographs from this location, made Jul 10, 2022.
Planning allocation · 2h
Drive to · Mendocino Headlands trail parking 39.310493, -123.807877 Find a current trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Backtrack south for the Tall Trees outing, then return to the same verified southern Oregon sleep corridor. Keep the walk ahead of the return drive and leave the California Coastal Trail for the shorter Brookings-area day.
4 photographs from this location, made Jul 11, 2022.
Planning allocation · 2h 30m
Drive to · Tall Trees trailhead parking 41.207950, -123.993189 NPS Redwood trails ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Walk the California Coastal Trail and visit Harris Beach, then return to camp near Gold Beach or Brookings. State scenic viewpoints are for day use unless posted otherwise.
5 photographs from this location, made Jul 10, 2022.
Planning allocation · 2h 30m
Drive to · Big Lagoon Park Road trail access 41.163854, -124.131837 Find a current trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗2 photographs from this location, made Jul 11, 2022.
Planning allocation · 1h 30m
Drive to · Harris Beach trail parking 42.068527, -124.314624 Find a current trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Give Indian Sands its own coastal walk, then return to a currently verified legal site in the broad southern Oregon corridor rather than treating an unsigned pullout as permission.
8 photographs from this location, made Jul 12, 2022.
Planning allocation · 1h 30m
Drive to · Indian Sands trailhead parking 42.157204, -124.361354 Find a current trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Walk the Samuel H. Boardman coast first, then make the northbound transfer and settle into the broad Florence–Yachats planning corridor. Select and verify a legal site before arrival.
17 photographs from this location, made Jul 13, 2022.
Planning allocation · 2h 30m
Drive to · Samuel H. Boardman coast-trail parking 42.196868, -124.370508 Find a current trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Walk Cape Perpetua's forest trails first, then use the ocean-edge Thor's Well stop before returning to a verified legal base in the broad corridor. Current Forest Service orders prohibit dispersed camping inside the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area.
2 photographs from this location, made May 21, 2023.
Planning allocation · 3h
Drive to · Cape Perpetua forest-trail parking 44.281508, -124.109060 Find a current trail guide ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗9 photographs from this location, made Jul 15, 2022–Jul 16, 2022.
Planning allocation · 0h 30m
Drive to · Captain Cook / Thor's Well trailhead parking 44.278493, -124.111591 Open vehicle-access pin ↗Use the long transfer to reach Bear Creek Campground if it is open, preserving the next two mornings for the Olympic coast and Hoh Rain Forest rather than compressing a major walk into the arrival drive. Washington does not provide blanket overnight permission at unsigned pullouts.
Keep the day open for travel, rest, or exploring.
Give Second Beach its own outing and return to the same verified Olympic base.
2 photographs from this location, made Jul 20, 2022.
Planning allocation · 2h 30m
Drive to · Second Beach trailhead parking 47.898146, -124.623133 NPS Olympic coast ↗ Open vehicle-access pin ↗Use the weather-flex day for Maple Grove and the 0.8-mile Hall of Mosses loop in the Hoh Rain Forest. The iconic loop passes old-growth maples draped in moss; expect the Hoh area to be busy from May through September.
1 photograph from this location, made Jul 19, 2022.
Planning allocation · 1h 30m
Drive to · Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center parking 47.860781, -123.934621 Open vehicle-access pin ↗Keep moving
Fold the Olympic finish into the longer western circuit.