Last updated: November 12, 2026

The Lost Coast Trail runs about 25 miles of beach between the Mattole River and Shelter Cove, along the King Range in Northern California. Getting a permit is simple compared with most popular trails, since there's no lottery to enter. The tide is what takes planning: three stretches of the route flood at high tide, and a permit is only worth having if the tides on your dates let you through.

Lost Coast permits, in short:

• When: each start date opens 90 days ahead, at 7:00 a.m. Pacific, on Recreation.gov.
• Quota: 60 people a day from May 15 to September 15, 30 a day the rest of the year. Permits are required year-round for overnight trips.
• Group size: up to 3 people per permit.
• Cost: $6 per permit plus $12 per person (under 16 free).
• Walk-up: a daily lottery at the King Range Visitor Center, Monday through Saturday at 8:00 a.m.
• Tides: check them before you book. A permit on sale doesn't mean the date is passable.

How reservations work

Permits don't have an opening day. Each start date goes on sale 90 days before it, at 7:00 a.m. Pacific. Recreation.gov's own example: "on 10/1/25, permits will open for 1/1/26; on 10/2/25 for 1/2/26." Summer weekends are the first to sell out, so be signed in a few minutes early.

The daily quota (60 people from May 15 to September 15, 30 the rest of the year) covers the whole King Range Wilderness, so you're sharing it with people headed into the hills as well as the beach. You have to start on the date printed on the permit, and you can't leave and come back in on it.

Each permit covers up to 3 people, and each person can hold only one active permit at a time. Organized and commercial groups need a Special Recreation Permit instead, for up to 15 people. Permits can't be transferred.

The $6 reservation fee isn't refunded. The $12 per person Special Area Fee is, if you cancel or shrink the group at least 7 days before your start; youth under 16 don't pay it. Day hikers don't need a permit at all.

Walk-up permits

If your dates are sold out, the King Range Visitor Center holds a walk-up lottery for up to 3 starts, Monday through Saturday at 8:00 a.m. Whatever's left after the lottery goes first come, first served. Call ahead for the visitor center's hours outside summer.

Printing and carrying the permit

Carry a paper copy of your permit. You can print it starting seven days before your start date; it isn't officially issued until it's printed, and once it's printed you can't change it. Rangers check permits on the trail and at the trailheads.

The tide zones

Three sections of the route are cut off at high tide, with cliffs on one side and surf on the other:

The BLM's rule: enter an impassable zone on a receding tide and plan for 1 mph. A "low tide" on its own isn't enough to get you through. Use the NOAA predictions for Shelter Cove, station 9418024, and check the marine forecast for Cape Mendocino to Point Arena for wind, wave height and period. The BLM doesn't recommend hiking at night.

Since November 2026, the BLM has also warned that observed tides are running consistently higher than predicted. Build in extra margin.

2027 impassable dates

Recreation.gov lists dates when the tides make the zones impassable in daylight. Permits are still sold for these dates, so check before you book:

Bear canisters

Hard-sided bear canisters are required, at least one per person. Bags and hangs aren't allowed, and you can be fined for using them.

The BLM's approved list includes the Backpackers' Cache 812, BearVault 110B through 500, the Bearikade Weekender and Expedition, the Counter Assault Bear Keg, the Bare Boxer Contender and Champ, the Lighter1 Big Daddy and Lil' Sami, and the UDAP No-Fed-Bear. You can rent one for $5 a trip with a $75 card deposit; in summer they can run out and can't be reserved.

Camping and rules

There are no designated camps, so use a site someone has already used. You can't camp at the Black Sands Beach Trailhead or below the Punta Gorda lighthouse, and a trip can last 14 days at most.

You need a California Campfire Permit from CAL FIRE to use a stove or build a fire. Campfires are banned every summer, and in some years stoves are too. When fires are allowed, use existing rings and dead, downed wood. Don't build driftwood shelters, because rattlesnakes and rodents move into them.

Bury human waste 6 to 8 inches deep in wet sand below the high tide line, and pack out your toilet paper. Dogs are allowed but must be leashed between Punta Gorda and Sea Lion Gulch, and the BLM only recommends bringing one that's used to backpacking, since the rocks get sharp and hot. Give elephant seals and sea lions plenty of room, and leave the drone at home: they aren't allowed.

Safety

Watch for sneaker waves: stay away from the water's edge, since waves can surge up without warning. Ticks, poison oak and rattlesnakes are common, and rattlesnakes like to hide under driftwood. From October through April this is one of the wettest places in the country, so don't cross a creek above knee height. The BLM has no search and rescue team, so plan to get yourself out and carry a satellite messenger. If a strong earthquake hits while you're on the beach, get to high ground right away.

As of July 2026, erosion has left large boulders in all three impassable zones, with active landslides and falling rocks in the southern zone north of Buck Creek.

Getting there and shuttles

The trail runs between the Mattole Trailhead in the north and the Black Sands Beach Trailhead at Shelter Cove in the south, about 2 hours apart by car.

For Mattole, turn onto Lighthouse Road one mile past Petrolia and follow it 5 miles to the Mattole Recreation Site. Allow 1.5 hours for the 42 miles from US-101. The last 2 miles are unpaved and can slide out in winter, and the Mattole River bridge on Mattole Road is being replaced, with a detour bridge in the meantime. Mattole Campground has 23 sites but no potable water.

Black Sands Beach is quicker: allow 45 minutes for the 22 miles from US-101 to Shelter Cove.

The BLM's trip guide lists two businesses with permits to run shuttles between the trailheads: Lost Coast Adventure Tours, (707) 382-1959 or (707) 502-7514, and Mendocino Insider Tours, (707) 962-4131.

Other permit guides

If you're planning more than one permit trip for 2027, the Wonderland Trail and Enchantments guides cover Washington's two February lotteries, and the Havasupai reservations guide covers the tribe's February sale.