Kortum Trail is a 8.9 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Occidental, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round.
kid friendly
hiking
nature trips
walking
bird watching
running
beach
views
wild flowers
wildlife
no dogs
A nice walk along the Sonoma coastline on a well maintained trail. Much of this trail is a double plank wood walkway that goes over wetland, the hike ends at Shell beach. There are options for this hike making for a much longer hike.
Jeff Feltman recorded Kortum Trail
Trail is mostly exposed scrubland. A few basic views of the cliffs and water. Flat and featureless for the most part. Might make a decent running workout trail but for sights and sounds, meh
This trail is breathtaking and extremely easy for all skill levels. Make an afternoon of it and if you're not worried about heights, take every single side trail that goes towards the cliffs. You'll be able to see seabirds from above them, it's amazing! There are a lot of deer along the trail as well.
For me, the trail was not as described. I went over Labor Day weekend starting at Shell Beach. The walk to the beach was nice and all downhill. From there it was all uphill. I’d prefer a combination of trails vs all up or all down. I walked for about an hour and a half and never saw the water. I’m glad I went but next time will start from the other end. The beach was nice and secluded. Roped off and a platform out on the water you could swim to and dive from.
Park at Wright Beach to do the full 9 mi. Otherwise a great hike. Bring all the water you'll need as there is nowhere to fill up on the trail.
Great views, easy hike
Only hike a portion of this trail out and back starting at Shell Beach and turning around at peaked hill. Did it on a whim in very foggy conditions I so didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. Gorgeous landscape and views of the coast. Saw lots of birds. The path was fairly even until just before peaked hill, which starts a brief but steep ascent. Would love to come back and do it again sometime when it’s slightly less foggy.
Great trail. Amazing views (so much so I chose to prepose to my girlfriend there!!) relatively easy elevation wise. Stay on the trail though! Take it from me, I learned the hard way! (Poison oak)
Beautiful sunny day on the Sonoma Coast. Easy hike from Wright’s Beach to Goat Rock with a lot of wild flowers in bloom.
Lots of wild flowers this time of year. Muddy in certain parts. Great for bird watching. Saw nesting sea birds on the rocks in the ocean and a white-tailed kite on the rocky hill side. Super fun and easy hike.
Good trail along with shore but it was muddy trail and unexpected shoes wet. My wife complained this. Except muddy and bug, good trail and enjoyable place
Lovely walk along the ocean with multiple side paths leading to the cliff edge for better views. We parked at Shell Beach and headed north, turning around just past the cool rockpile before you start climbing. Be warned, this trail has lots of puddles after it rains, waterproof boots are advised. Would have gone all the way to Goat Rock but rain came in and cut our hike short.
Super easy and really fun.
one of my beach favorites
We loved this hike! Caught a beautiful hot day out in Bodega and started at Wright’s beach and went all the way out to Goat Rock & back. We went a slower pace and stopped at a couple beaches, checked out the tide pools. About 4.2 hours- walking with a recovering ACL. Stopped to take many scenic pictures as well. Stopped on the way out at the Fishetarian for the best clam chowder in Bodega Bay. They have great waterfront picnic tables.
We parked at Shell Beach, where they have a restroom. We hiked about 2 miles to a peak with a great view of the shoreline on either side. Then returned to Shell Beach, for a total of about 4 miles. It was fairly flat, but not handicap accessible the whole way. The last portion leading up to the peak was quite steep. A great hike.
Nice sceneries, easy access paths to small beaches along the trail.
Kortum Trail was extremely scenic and picturesque!! If it's your first time it's worth taking your time so you can stop and enjoy the views. Ideal for easy trail running too. From certain spots along the trail you can access the beach. The listing for this is tagged with: "no dogs" but I saw several people with them (all on a leash)!! Ample parking is available in a few lots, as well as basic, public restroom facilities. ** Note: cellular service was limited and I wasn't able to "Record" the trail as I was hiking it, so keep that in mind!
One of the best hikes I’ve ever been on!
Great trail along the coast
Love this place! It is a nice and friendly hike for all beginners. They also have parking spaces in between this hike so you can park in the middle and cut the hike in half. We ended up parking in the middle of this trail to make it 4 miles altogether. Has a fabulous view of the ocean at all times. Great for kids and we will be back again!
I did part of the trail as a short loop from the wrights beach parking area to the next beach access point maybe 3/4 mile away, then down from the bluff to return along the beach. Beautiful trail, as others have said. Suggest wearing long pants - when I was there in early June the section after the first boardwalk was choked with waist-high weedy brush, including prickly thistle plants crowding the trail and making it quite narrow at times. Not so nice to brush against with bare legs.
This is an easy walk atop the bluffs with an ocean view almost all the way. Wildflowers were everywhere in early April. There are smooth colorful rocks, with chert, blue shist, and plenty others in the mix on the coarse-grained beaches along the way.
This trail is fabulous! Only about 2 Miles until you get to a small peak. The view from that hill is magnificent! And then 2 Miles back to the parking lot. The entire time you see the ocean, and you even have opportunities to walk down to the beach. We walked through golden red grasses and a big rock patch. We saw wild iris blooming here and there. The highlight was definitely the rocks in the ocean. If you want, you can even go further up the trail and make the hike longer. The small peak was a nice stopping point, though.
Gorgeous views!
An absolute favorite for fairly easy trail running. You cannot beat these views. Being ocean front, can get very very windy. And crowded on weekends. Go before 8-9 and have it more to yourself.
It's all in what you are looking for. in this case, 5 stars for the view. Easy trail with one uphill section. Total out and back mileage from the trailhead at Wright's Beach Campground to Goat Rock parking area is 9.1 miles. The trail stops at Blind Beach. From there, either take the road to Goat Rock, or drop down to the beach and follow it. At high tide it is a bit more difficult, as part of the beach walk involves a rock scramble. To add a little extra, keep following the beach past Goat Rock to the end of the Russian River sand bar for a total of about 10 miles. views are phenomenal the entire way!
Not physically demanding, but I wish it had been. It was a nice leisure walk though, and we saw a deer scale the cliffs when it somehow stranded itself on the beach. The large hill/mountain on the right would've been a bit more appropriate for us maybe. But the views were lovely as ever.