Beach Monument, Lost Coast

Beach Monument, Lost Coast
A monument of driftwood lumber on a Lost Coast beach.

Beach Monument, Lost Coast. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A monument of driftwood lumber on a Lost Coast beach.

On our recent visit to the far Northern California redwood country, we did a bit of exploring in places that were new to us. (While there are no hard and fast rules about this, I often enjoy trips that combine the discovery of new subjects with repeat visits to more familiar places.) One reason was simply that it is useful to head off in a different direction when the thing you thought you might photograph is not in an ideal state. But we also made some specific advance plans concerning locations like the one in this photograph.

Roughly between the Fort Bragg and Eureka areas there is a remarkable section of the Pacific Coast that is nicknamed the “Lost Coast.” Here the main highways (101 and 1) divert inland to avoid some particularly rugged sections. Few roads make it to the coast, and those that do tend to be narrow, twisty, and a bit less traveled. We drove one of those roads on a large loop that took us to and along this section of almost completely deserted coastline.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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