A coastal gem! Days/Nights - 2/1
Miles - 5.7
Elevation Gain - 430
Starting Elevation - 151
Ending Elevation - 151
Highest Elevation - 377 See AllTrails here
Overview:
On the easiest route, Coast Camp is a perfect beginner introduction to camping, in a setting that is pure magic. You are literally a few hundred feet from the ocean, protected by a bluff. There are two sections. The first are sites 1-7 which climb up the hillside and offer views of the ocean. These sites are quite private and site #1 is my personal favorite. The second are sites 8-14 which sit below in a small valley, and are in the open, meaning you see your neighbors, but they are decently spread out. There are 2 taps for potable water and a pit toilet to serve the entire site. Each site has a table/bench, a bear box and a grill that only coals can be used on, but it is my understanding that fires are no longer allowed, so these may have been removed. This is a great place for training hikes, testing new gear, and the setting is serene. If you want to challenge yourself a little more, there are tons of interlocking trails, so it is easy to make it a longer hike with, my favorite route being the climb up to Mt Vision making it a 15 mile RT with 2,700 gain.
Reservations are necessary and are ordered through Recreation.gov. They can be ordered 6 months in advance and weekends get booked out almost immediately. My preference is to go mid-week where it is usually close to being empty.
The Hike:
The hike in (on the short route) is a shade over 2 miles, where the first mile is a climb through forest & brush, followed by a descent for the following mile in which the ocean comes into view. The return trip takes you out along a fire road along the coast with views the entire way, followed by a winding hike through coastal forest. This entire hike out is entirely flat and a shade under 4 miles long.
