We all have our favorite seaside towns and beaches. In the Santa Clarita Valley, we are fortunate that we can access the ocean by driving to Ventura, Malibu, Santa Monica and other popular SoCal ocean locations. However, now is the season to jump in the car, with the sunroof open, drinks in the cooler and a bag full of snacks and explore some unexpected and little-known seaside gems in Northern California.
Trinidad
Info www.exploretrinidadca.com
Eighty miles below the Oregon border is the picture-perfect headlands hamlet of Trinidad, the oldest town on California’s northern coast. If you’ve never heard of Trinidad, you are not alone.
With a population of just 360 residents Trinidad is one of California’s best keep seaside secrets. It’s also the perfect location to start your exploration up and down the Redwood Coast. In Trinidad it’s all about the sea.
Trinidad Head, Trinidad State Beach,
Lighthouse Road and Bay Street, Trinidad 95570
Info www.californiabeaches.com/beach/trinidad-
state-beach
Trinidad Head is a rocky promontory surrounded by sea stacks sheltering Trinidad Harbor, adjacent to the town of Trinidad. It is designated as California Historical Landmark #146. On June 11, 1775, Bruno de Hezeta, commandant of an expedition up the northwest coast, marched with his men and two Franciscan fathers from the shore of the bay to the summit of Trinidad Head and claimed it for Spain.
This lush, rocky outcrop with an elevation of 358 feet has a summit hike with ocean views. This 1.7-mile loop trail is considered an easy route. Hike to the top of Trinidad Head to watch for whales. Trinidad State Beach is also a well-known surfing spot.
Trinidad Head Lighthouse
Info www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=61
Trinidad Head Lighthouse is a small tower perched on a 175-foot shelf above sea level. The lighthouse is still active, with a LED beacon mounted outside the lantern room. The 146-year-old lighthouse was transferred from the U. S. Coast Guard into public ownership and the Bureau of Land Management in 2014. The BLM is currently managing the facility cooperatively with the city of Trinidad, the Trinidad Rancheria, the Trinidad Museum Society and the Yurok Tribe. Pedestrians may walk up Lighthouse Road for about one-half mile and go through the open gate to the 1871 lighthouse on the southwest edge of Trinidad Head.
The Trinidad Head Memorial Lighthouse, located on Bay Street, near the wharf, at Trinidad State Beach is a replica of the Trinidad Lighthouse and was built in 1949 to house the historic artifacts of the original lighthouse still located on Trinidad Head.
Old Home Beach
Edwards Street, Trinidad 95570
Info californiabeaches.com/beach/old-home-indian-beach
Previously known as Indian Beach, this is the perfect beach for tide-pooling and watching the sun set over the Pacific.
To reach Old Home Beach from the bluff above head down a trail with stairs at the corner of Trinity and Edwards Streets. Or visit the second beach access point, down a trail at the end of Parker Street called the Parker Creek Trail. Park on grass at top of the hill and walk down Parker Street.
Sue-meg State Park
4150 Patricks Point Drive, Trinidad 95570
Info www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=417
The park sits on a forested promontory beside the Pacific Ocean. The one-square-mile park also offers a beach with tidepools where you can see purple shore crabs, limpets, ochre stars and orange cup coral. You can also peer out at the ocean to spot seals, sea lions and migrating whales. Sue-meg has a visitor center, a native plant garden and a reconstructed Yurok plank-house village.
Westport
Westport-Union Landing State Beach
25000 Hillshore Drive, Westport 95488
Info www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=440
It’s a scenic 140-mile drive south of Trinidad on CA-1 to Westport-Union Landing State Beach. This three-mile-long largely deserted swath of sand backed by white-crested waves is the definition of unknown seaside gem.
The water is too rough and cold for swimming, but the beach is perfect for capturing photos of the raw shoreline and ancient offshore rocks, or taking long walks searching for washed-up treasures.
Point Arena
Bowling Ball Beach
Schooner Gulch State Beach, 28200 CA-1, Point Arena 95468
Info https://www.visitmendocino.com/listing/bowling-ball-beach-or-schooner-gulch-beach
From Westport it is an hour and a half drive to Point Arena. You’ll pass through the towns of Fort Bragg, Caspar and Mendocino.
Check the tide tables before you go. During very low or minus tides, walk north from Schooner Gulch State Beach and follow the blufftop trail, or walk along the sand, less than a mile to see an intriguing assembly of round rocks, formed by millions of years of weathering. The oddly spherical “balls” were formed when the softer surrounding rock was eroded away under the onslaught of Pacific Ocean waves leaving the harder “bowling balls” behind.
