Usal BeachJuly 2023 was the hottest month on record for most of the country, very much limiting where we could escape to for some recreation away from the heat.

The answer for us was pretty much the same as where to escape when the wildfires come - the coast, where the temperatures are cooled by the Pacific Ocean, and there is almost always a lovely breeze.

Since moving to California back in 2016, we had already visited much of the beautiful California coastline - San Diego, Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, Cambria, Big Sur, Monterey, Carmel, Capitola, Pescadero, Half Moon Bay, the beaches of Marin and Sonoma Counties, Mendocino, and even up to Crescent City.

Elephant Seals determining dominanceHowever, there was one stretch of coast that we had always been interested in, but was a bit of a mystery as to how to visit - the aptly named Lost Coast, a 50-mile stretch of beautiful coastline from just north of Fort Bragg to the tiny town of Petrolia.

Since the Lost Coast has no roads along its coastline, the only way to access it is to either backpack along the shoreline, or drive a 4WD vehicle up and over the King Range with various access points along the shore.

Anxious to see something new, we set off to explore the Lost Coast with some extra stops along the way.