{"id":7772,"date":"2016-07-05T00:00:48","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T07:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/?p=7772"},"modified":"2022-11-14T10:06:20","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T18:06:20","slug":"gold-bluffs-beach-a-magnificent-part-of-california-coastal-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/trails\/gold-bluffs-beach-a-magnificent-part-of-california-coastal-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold Bluffs Beach a Magnificent Part of California Coastal Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wildlife-watching, waterfalls and a wilderness beach are highlights of a hike along the northern reaches of Gold Bluffs Beach in Redwood National Park. While even one of these en route attractions makes for a compelling hike, the mere prospect of so many engaging environments can put a hiker into sensory overload before reaching the trailhead.<\/p>\n

Gold Bluffs Beach and the hiking in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park comprise one of those most inspiring lengths of the California Coastal Trail and I write about it with much enthusiasm in my narrative, “Hiking on the Edge: Dreams, Schemes and 1600 Miles on the California Coastal Trail.”<\/p>\n

Gold Bluffs Beach (both bluffs and beach) is prime Roosevelt elk territory. While nearby elk-viewing opportunities abound, the creatures seem all the more majestic in this wilderness setting.<\/p>\n

\"Roosevelt<\/a>

Roosevelt elk roam the bluffs above Gold Bluffs Beach in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The California Coastal Trail at its most magnificent! (Photo SF Wolfman, wikimedia<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n

Waterfalls near the coast are a rarity, so the presence of three of them in close proximity to the California Coastal Trail is a special treat indeed. Gold Dust Falls, a long, slender tumbler, spills some 80 feet to the forest floor. An unnamed waterfall is located just south of Gold Dust; another is located just north.<\/p>\n

The hike gets off to an amazing start near the mouth of Fern Canyon. Check out The Trailmaster’s description of the Fern Canyon Hike<\/a><\/p>\n

This is an easy-moderate hike. From Fern Canyon to Gold Dust Falls is 2 miles round trip; to Butler Creek Backpack Camp is 4.5 miles round trip; to Ossagon Rocks is 6 miles round trip. No elevation gain to speak of.<\/p>\n

In the case of this hike, the journey north from Gold Bluffs Beach overshadows the destination; nevertheless, the destination\u2014the odd Ossagon Rocks\u2014are intriguing in their own way. The rocks resemble sea stacks, though they\u2019re positioned right at land\u2019s end, not in their usual offshore location.<\/p>\n

DIRECTIONS TO Gold BLUFFS BEACH<\/h3>\n

From Highway 101 in Orick, drive 2 miles north to signed Davison Road. Turn left (west) and proceed 7 miles to road\u2019s end at Gold Beach and the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Fern Canyon trailhead.<\/p>\n

THE HIKE<\/h3>\n

Coastal Trail begins on the other side of Home Creek, an easy ford in summer, but may present a challenge during the rainy season. Usually a signpost on the north side of the creek shows the way to the start of Coastal Trail, as the California Coastal Trail is known in these parts.<\/p>\n

Join the path for a brief meander through the forest then out across the grass-topped dunes. The hiker is often out of sight of the surf, but never altogether removed from its thunderous roll, even when the Coastal Trail strays 0.1 mile inland.<\/p>\n

A mile out, the sound of falling water and an unsigned path forking right into the forest calls you to Coastal Trail\u2019s first cascade, a long, wispy waterfall framed by ferns.<\/p>\n

Another 0.25 mile along the main path leads to the short connector trail leading to Gold Dust Falls. A well-placed bench offers repose and a place to contemplate the inspiring cataract. A minute or so more down the main trail delivers you to another brief spur trail and the third of Coastal Trail\u2019s cascades.<\/p>\n

Coastal Trail edges from prairie to forest and reaches Butler Creek Camp, a hike-in retreat at 2.25 miles. The small camp is located at a convergence of environments\u2014creekside alder woodland, a prairie matted with head-high native grasses, the creek mouth and the beach beyond.<\/p>\n

Cross Butler Creek and travel the grassy sand verbena-topped prairie for a final 0.5 mile to cross Ossagon Creek and junction with Ossagon Trail. Continue on Coastal Trail a bit farther north, then bid adieu to the path and head oceanward to Ossagon Rocks.<\/p>\n

Interested in more hikes near Gold Bluffs Beach? Check out HIKE the Redwoods<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wildlife-watching, waterfalls and a wilderness beach are highlights of a hike along the northern reaches of Gold Bluffs Beach in Redwood National Park. While even…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,99],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7772"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}