Humboldt Lagoons is a 5.9 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Trinidad, California that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from June until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Tucked away along the isolated coast of Humboldt County between the villages of Trinidad and Orick lies the largest lagoon system in the continental United States. The lagoons are shallow, landlocked bodies of water along the coast which are separated from the sea by coastal spits of land. Seawater only flows in and out of the lagoons when it breaks through the spits, generally during winter storm seasons. In the early 1900's, Dry Lagoon was drained by early farmers in an attempt to grow several types of crops, none of which proved economically viable. Today, Dry Lagoon supports a wetland environment that attracts migratory birds. Additionally, several dairy ranches were established along the shores of Stone Lagoon. At Stone Lagoon the park's visitor center on HWY 101 was formerly a local motel-restaurant called the "Little Red Hen." This business operated until 1979. Today the restaurant has been remodeled into a museum/bookstore and the park office. Picnic tables, restrooms, and boat launching are all available here. The coastal beaches within Humboldt Lagoons support healthy coastal dune vegetation. The edges of both Big and Stone lagoons contain brackish marshes; Dry Lagoon supports both freshwater and a brackish marsh. The landlocked Freshwater Lagoon is surrounded by a narrow strip of freshwater marshlands. In the park's forests are Coast Redwood, Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, Fir, Red Alder and large stands of Willows. Humboldt Lagoons is part of the Pacific Flyway, hosting more than 200 bird species which include: bald eagles, peregrine falcons and threatened Western snowy plovers. Black bear, Roosevelt elk herds and bobcats can be seen throughout the park. Offshore, whales, dolphins and sea lions can be encountered. The lagoons are open for fishing and exploration by boat; primarily small power boats, canoes, kayaks, paddle-boards, and even shallow keeled sailboats.
Visitor Center Operating Hours: Open daily 10am to 3pm if staffing allows from June to September (Due to low staffing calling ahead would be best) Day-use Areas: Sunrise to sunset year-round Seasonal Camping: Camping is seasonal and offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact the park directly for information.
HUMBOLDT LAGOONS STATE PARK 15336 Highway 101 Trinidad, California 95570 Phone: 707-488-2169 Humboldt Lagoons SP http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=416
Coastal/Temperate. Summer is foggy, cool and damp, with temperatures averaging 50-60 degrees. Winter temperatures average 40-50 degrees with a 60" annual rainfall occurring mostly November - May. Spring and Fall are typically very nice. Bring warm/layered clothing.
Humboldt Lagoons is located 40 miles north of Eureka and 55 miles south of Crescent City on Highway 101. (Latitude/Longitude: 41.1900 / -124.1206)
February 27, 2021February 23, 2021A bit muddy and the lagoon is blocking the last quarter mile. But a nice hike!
February 20, 2021was a nice late winter hike. A little soggy and muddy after all the rains the past week. Lots of new growth and sprouts peaking out. Couldn't make it all the way to spit as Stone Lagoon is very full and high, that last section of trail was under water.
January 23, 2021January 18, 2021Lovely.
January 3, 2021December 1, 2020Overgrown and pretty muddy in spots. Took a detour to the top of the lookout point. Great views
November 11, 2020Incredible views at the lookout point. Trail through the forest is overgrown and quiet and lovely. Lots of native frogs which speaks well for the biodiversity.
October 31, 2020September 25, 2020Wear pants and long sleeves if you don’t want to be all sliced up
September 20, 2020The forest like jungles - very green. Long ocean Beach is nice.
August 24, 2020another one of my favorite in town hikes. beautiful views once you reach point rock. you can take the trail back out where you came in or walk along the beach as long as you hit the tide at the right time.
July 26, 202024 July 2020. Nice trail with varied landscapes. Starts off sandy with coastal brush and turns woody for a bit (with that lovely spongey coniferous forest floor) before it becomes an overgrown jungle. The plants are tall along portions of the main path. At the first offshoot of the main path, the trail takes you toward a giant overlook rock on the beach and the overgrowth gets much worse long the way. There are parts where it’s tough to push through, particularly in the areas where there are thorny shrubs. Still, a hat, pants, and sleeves will protect you from the few bugs, the sun, and the plants. The hike up the peak on the beach was well worth the effort. It’s easy to get up there but terrifying to climb down! It may not be safe for dogs and little children to go all the way, but hiking even part of the way there affords a great view. (Minus one star for all the overgrowth and thorny shrubs.)
June 29, 2020This was definitely my least favorite hike done on my weekend in Humboldt. The path is extremely overgrown for 1/3-1/2 of the length of it. We wore long sleeves but not pants and our legs are pretty scratched up. The foliage was well over my head (and in my face) in many places (don’t bring your kids!). It was quite buggy at times, I walked with my hand over my face so I didn’t inhale them. I also ended up with a lot of spider webs in my face due to the overgrown path. We never lost the trail, but there were several points where we couldn’t see it. We clocked the hike from the parking lot to the lagoon and back at just 5.2mi instead of 5.9. Also notable that we saw fresh bear scat twice so make noise and be aware!
June 26, 2020Loved every moment of this hike. Slightly overgrown in spots but worth the work and not bad with pants on. An unexpected journey through Middle Earth via Humboldt.
June 26, 2020Great trail. Just a little overgrown, but definitely worth going despite. Make your way to the top of Sharp Point, you won’t regret it.
May 24, 2020the trail is very overgrown and not at all maintained. I hiked in about a half a mile before turning back.
May 23, 2020Beautiful area, however the foliage on the trail needs to be cut back....I had to turn around. Perhaps I should try again during a different time of year.
January 20, 2020Really glad this trail has finally been maintained as I’ve been wanting to do it since I moved here. Trail was in great condition minus some muddy patches which is pretty common for this season. I saw two other couples hiking it and lots of birds! I would definitely recommend taking the offshoot to the overlook- it was by far my favorite part of the hike. The path it a bit hard to find if you don’t know what you’re looking for but if you use the waypoints on the map it’s fairly easy.
September 10, 2019The trail was clear when I did the hike, looked like someone recently came through and cleared the trail making it an easy hike. I highly recommend taking the side trail on your map halfway through the hike.
September 1, 2019It was recently cleared. Very pleasant hike
August 9, 2019Rando entre stone lagoon et big lagoon, le chemin n’avait pas été dégagé entièrement et certaines portions étaient couvertes de végétation, rendant l’avancée difficile. Il propose peu de points de vue sur les lagons pendant la marche
June 23, 2019This would be a great trail if it weren’t overgrown and neglected. As it is, it’s a real “adventure.”
April 8, 2019I called and spoke to the Patrick’s Point Visitor Center, which is where you need to register to stay at the Stone Lagoon Campground. They said the trail is closed and unmaintained, and that you can’t leave your car overnight at Dry Lagoon or ”it’ll get towed”. They said the only way to get to the campground is by boat/kayak via the far side of Stone Lagoon.
December 16, 2018We were staying across the street at Elk Country RV Park, which was great, so we mainly drove by the dry lagoons and walked down to the ocean. There were elk all in the dry lagoon and it was one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve seen. We had our dog on the beach along with many others. We loved it!
July 18, 2018Very overgrown. Not many places there is scenery besides what’s in front of you but if you hike to the end (you will miss the turn if you don’t have the live map going) it is worth it. The lagoon and the ocean are worth the hike!
