The Lost Coast 4x4 Loop

Northern California's Lost Coast remains one of the state's last untamed stretches—where elk roam empty beaches, cathedral-like redwood forests stretch for miles, and mountains plunge dramatically into the Pacific. The Lost Coast 4x4 Loop (or LoCo Loop) weaves together 328 miles of this legendary coastline, connecting Mendocino to Rio Dell through the Humboldt Redwoods and the rugged interior ranges of Southern Humboldt and Northern Mendocino. It's the definitive way to experience a region that still refuses to play by California's usual rules.

Route Overview

Trip Length & Season

Adventure Rating: Epic Trip Length: 3-6 days, 328 miles Season: Late May - October (Usal Road is gated during the wet season (typically late October to mid-May), check Mendocino County dept of transportation for closure status).

Digital Maps & GPX File

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• The Lost Coast 4x4 Loop

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Technical Ratings & Terrain

Avg Trail Rating: 2 Peak Trail Rating: 3 Typical Terrain: The route is approximately 60% dirt and 40% pavement. The dirt consists of both wide and narrow forest roads with a few steep sections, as well as some mild erosion and ruts between Usal Beach and Four Corners. The terrain gets steep and loose on the way up to Saddle Mountain Road. Sections of Usal Road and Saddle Mountain Road have become overgrown with encroaching brush and low hanging branches. The section along Dyerville Loop and Bell Springs tends to be wide dirt roads, while Sherwood Road can be susceptible to mud and ruts. Mud may be prevalent after heavy rains, especially in Sinkyone State Park and Sherwood Road.

Recommended Vehicle / Moto / Adventure Vans

Recommended Vehicle: Stock 4x4

Recommended Moto: Mid-weight is recommended to deal with the rough and steep terrain along Usal and Saddle Mountain roads, but skilled riders should be able to manage the entire route on a big bike.

Adventure Vans: Sprinter 4x4s are good to go, but beware of low hanging branches and encroaching brush on Usal and Saddle Mountain Roads.

Fuel, Provisions, and Recommended Gear

Fuel:

• Mendocino to Shelter Cove is 100 mi

• Shelter Cove to Petrolia is 55 mi

• Petrolia to Rio Dell is 40 mi

• Rio Dell to Laytonville is 85 mi

• Laytonville to Fort Bragg is 45 mi

Provisions: Opportunities for provisions in Fort Bragg, Shelter Cove, Petrolia, Honeydew, Rio Dell and Laytonville. Gear: no specialized gear is recommended for this adventure.

Alternative Routes

n/a

Camping Recommendations

Driving vehicles on Usal Beach is prohibited per CA State Parks. Please recreate responsibly and setup camp off of the sand/beach in a designated site. Land managers require camping in designated campgrounds along the Lost Coast. Certain campgrounds (Humboldt Redwoods, Mattole Beach) typically fill up during the summer, so plan your adventure accordingly. The majority of land from Mattole Road, Bear River Ridge, Dyerville Loop, Bell Springs Road and Sherwood Road is surrounded by private property. Dispersed camping isn't an option along this portion of the route, so plan accordingly. $$$ All of the campgrounds below charge a fee except Usal Beach.

• Usal Beach (we recommend trying to visit on a weekday)

• Mattole Beach (FC/FS)

• Needle Rock (no car camping, but you can rent the Barn out)

• Humboldt State Redwoods (any campground, reservatiosn recommended))

• Wailaki Campround (FC/FS)

• Nadelos (walk-in sitesm (FC/FS))

• Tolkan Campground (FC/FS)

• AW Way County Park (fantastic swimming along the Mattole River, FC/FS)

• Van Duzen River County Park (another fantastic swimming hole, FC/FS)

• Albee Creek Campground (reservations recommended)

• Burlington Campground (reservations recommended)

• Camp One (Jackson Demo Forest, FC/FS)

• MacKerricher State Park (reservations recommended)

• Russian Bulch State Park (reservations recommended)

• Navarro Beach Campground (FC/FS)

Discovery Points

1. Big River Beach

2. Historic Mendocino

3. Jackson Demonstration Forest

4. Noyo Harbor

5. Historic Fort Bragg

6. Skunk Train

7. Glass Beach

8. MacKerricher Tide Pools

9. Usal Road

10. Usal Beach

11. Candelabra Redwoods

12. Four Corners

13. Needle Rock Visitor Center

14. Whale Gulch School

15. Gyppo Ale House

16. Cape Mendocino Lighthouse

17. Black Sands Beach Viewpoint

18. Saddle Mountain Road

19. King Peak

20. Honeydew Bridge

21. Mattole Valley

22. Mattole River

23. Mattole Beach & river mouth

24. Truck-in-a-tree

25. Prosper Ridge

26. Windy Point

27. Punta Gorda Lighthouse

28. Petrolia

29. Mattole Road

30. Cape Mendocino

31. Sugarloaf Rock

32. Bear River Ridge

33. Rio Dell

34. Eel River

35. Scotia Company Town & Mill

36. Avenue of the Giants

37. Dyerville River Bar

38. Dyerville Train Truss

39. Founders Grove

40. Rockerfeller Grove (Lower Bull Creek Flat)

41. Big Trees Loop (Upper Bull Creek Flat)

42. Humboldt Redwoods Visitor Center

43. Dyerville Loop

44. Bell Springs Road

45. Sherwood Road

Permits, Papers & Resources

Permits & Papers: n/a

Resources:

• BLM, King Range National Conservation Area

• Sinkyone Wilderness State Park

• Humboldt Redwoods State Park

• Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive Association

Adventure Badge OTG has partnered with All Roads Taken to offer an adventure badge for this route. >> Buy your adventure badge today!

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Route Details

Northern California's Lost Coast Loop—or the LoCo Loop if you're into the whole brevity thing—stitches together 328 miles of everything that makes this stretch of coastline worth the drive. You'll hit wild beaches, ancient redwood groves, emerald ridgelines, and enough dirt roads to make things interesting. Plan on 4-5 days if you want to actually enjoy it rather than just check boxes.

Big Sur gets the Instagram crowd, but those in the know have been quietly obsessing over the Lost Coast for the better part of a decade now. There's no Highway 1 hugging the shoreline up here—just rutted tracks, working harbors, and forests so thick you'll forget what year it is. If towering redwoods, untamed coastline, and ridges that drop straight into the Pacific sound like your kind of weekend, you're in the right place.

The loop works in either direction, but we're running this one clockwise starting from Mendocino. Makes sense given where most people are coming from anyway.

You'll kick things off at Big River Beach (DP), just south of Mendocino. From there, head north into Mendocino proper (DP)—worth a walk if you've never been, even if the bohemian vibes aren't your scene. The route dips inland briefly to explore some of the dirt tracks through Jackson Demonstration Forest (DP) before spitting you back out onto pavement toward Fort Bragg (DP). Make a pit stop at Noyo Harbor (DP) while you're passing through—it's still a working harbor and worth the detour.

About 30 miles north of Fort Bragg, you'll hang a left onto Usal Road and enter the Sinkyone Wilderness. This is where things get quiet. The forest here is classic coastal California—Douglas fir and coast redwood mixing it up in ways that somehow never get old. Usal Beach (DP) makes for a solid first-night camp, though it fills up fast on summer weekends. If you'd rather skip the crowds, push north to the sites around Bear Harbor (DP). Bonus: this is Roosevelt Elk country. Usal Beach, Needle Rock, and Bear Harbor all see herds passing through if you time it right.

Keep heading north and you'll eventually roll into Shelter Cove, an old fishing village that somehow still feels like it's hiding from the rest of the world. Black Sands Beach (DP) and the Cape Mendocino Lighthouse (DP) are the postcard moments here, so don't just blow through. Leaving Shelter Cove, you'll climb into the gnarliest section of the King Range—BLM land that's also one of the most seismically active zones in California, which explains the dramatic topography. Saddle Mountain Road delivers big views over the Pacific and gives you the best angle on King's Peak, the range's namesake summit. Mattole Beach (DP) is the move for camping, but A.W. Way County Park a few miles up the road works as a backup if the beach is packed.

From Mattole Beach, you'll continue north on Mattole Road. The pavement here is, to put it charitably, beat to hell—but the views make up for it. Cape Mendocino (DP) and Sugarloaf Rock (DP) sit right above the Mendocino Triple Junction, where the Pacific, North American, and Juan de Fuca plates collide a few miles offshore. It's a geological hot mess in the best way. This is also where the road starts climbing inland, leaving the coast behind.

A few miles later you'll turn onto Bear River Ridge Road. The pavement gives up quickly, replaced by graded dirt that opens up some of the best vistas of King Peak and the eastern face of the range. Once you drop off Bear River Ridge (DP), it's mostly pavement until you hit the Dyerville Loop past the Avenue of the Giants. This stretch has its moments—the Mattole Valley is gorgeous, A.W. Way County Park offers swimming holes if you need to cool off, and the drive through Bull Creek Flat (DP) is legitimately humbling. This is the largest remaining old-growth redwood forest on the planet, with the highest concentration of trees over 350 feet tall. The Stratosphere Giant stands at 371 feet, making it the fourth tallest tree on Earth. Driving Mattole Road through Bull Creek Flat beats the Avenue of the Giants in our book, but don't just drive it—get out and walk the Big Trees Loop trail (DP). You'll understand why people get weird about these forests.

Your final push through Humboldt Redwoods State Park includes a quick run down the Avenue of the Giants (DP) to the visitor center (DP). Before you jump onto Dyerville Loop, swing by either Leatherman Bar or Dyerville Bar—one's great for swimming, the other gives you a killer view of the Dyerville Train Truss (DP).

This next section flies under the radar with most overlanders, but local adventure riders know what's up. You'll leave the redwoods behind as the terrain opens into rolling hills and prairie. Keep an eye on those private property signs—you're cutting through the heart of the Emerald Triangle now, and Southern Humboldt takes its cannabis farms seriously. Stick to the main tracks and public roads and you'll be fine. You'll cross Alderpoint Road before picking up Bell Springs Road, which eventually drops you back onto Highway 101. Head south through Laytonville until you reach Sherwood Road.

Sherwood Road serves as your gateway back to the Mendocino coast. After a few hours winding through the forest, you'll emerge once again in Fort Bragg (DP), completing the loop right where you passed through days earlier. You've earned that meal at Noyo Harbor (DP).

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