Coastal Trail Section of Redwood National Forest (Klamath and Hidden Beach)

Another great way to see bluffs, redwoods, and the ocean is the Coastal Trail section of the Redwood National Forest. The Coastal Trail is nearly continuous in the parks, divided up into 7 sections (Crescent Beach, DeMartin, Klamath, Secret Beach, Flint Ridge, Golden Bluff Beach, and Sunken Cabbage). According to NPS’ website the one major detour is the Highway 101 bridge over the Klamath River. I only ran one section, although I attempted two (see below), but the experience was enough for me to say with confidence, that I am pretty sure that all 30 miles of this entire trail are awesome, if you can find them.

Klamath Overlook

So this is the first area where I tried to find the trail, failing miserably, mainly because I went to Klamath Overlook and not Klamath River Overlook (yes it makes a difference). I did find what looked like the remnants of a trail, but it really didn’t seem to go anywhere, just sort of faded away and probably took me less than a mile.  I even asked an NPS employee in the parking lot where the trail was and he stared at me like I was crazy, although on second though he also might have thought I was crazy for trying to run on these trails.

However, there were some nice views, I just wouldn’t recommend trying to find a good trail run from this starting point.

Hidden Beach

Now what I do recommend is the Secret Beach section.  The trail is narrow at first but much easier to follow and is pretty well marked.

Park at Klamath River Picnic Area and run north. This was my third run of the day and I really only got about 7 miles of this trail in (mainly because I was late and had to turn back, but really wish I could have done more.

The trail from the parking lot to the hidden beach was gorgeous, well marked, and pretty easy to run.  Up on the bluff there was no flooding (or dunes thank God), just really beautiful northwest rain forest vegetation.

Once you come to a fork in the road you will have a chance to go down to hidden beach or carry on to Lagoon Creek. While I wish I had the time to keep going, I am so glad that I stopped for a quick respite at Hidden Beach.

The trail down to the beach is basically a 90 degree human slide (fun coming back up), but the driftwood filled beach is worth it.  Plus there was NO ONE HERE!

If you do go make sure you know the tide table. I obviously lucked out and was here at low tide, but as you can see from the driftwood it can get quite high.  I guess there are whirlpools here too.

The other feature of this trail that I cannot forget to mention are the amazing coastal views. Not only are the beautiful to look at this area of the country is famous for whale watching.  I didn’t see any (it was pretty cloudy) but definitely keep an eye out if you are lucky enough to run this trail!

Level of traffic	Low – While I was out during the week on a cloudy day, I saw no one on the trail outside of the parking lots. Glorious!
Vistas	Fantastic – Pretty consistent views of the bluffs, old growth forest, and of course a secret beach full of driftwood and neat rock formations
Potential Length	Long – If you add up all of the sections in the park it is over 30 miles one way
Level of Difficulty	Moderate – Clear easy paths (where you can find them) and not too many climbs, but great amount of distance
Recommendations	I think this whole section of trail is promising, but don’t miss secret beach, it is pretty amazing