US-101 between Trinidad and Orick
Three large lagoons separated from the Pacific by nothing but a strip of sand, on the stretch of 101 that everyone drives on the way to the redwood parks. Almost nobody stops. They should.
What this is
Going north from Trinidad, 101 runs along a series of enormous coastal lagoons—described as the largest lagoon system in the United States—held back from the ocean by narrow sand spits. You can be driving with a lagoon on one side and surf on the other.
They’re a product of the same restless geology that shapes this whole coast: rivers and creeks blocked at their mouths by sand pushed up in winter storms, ponding behind it. Some of them breach in big weather and reconnect to the sea, then close again.
What that means for a visitor is flat, sheltered water for paddling right next to open ocean, six miles of beach, and a lot of birds—pelicans, waterfowl, and elk on the surrounding prairies. Whales pass offshore on migration.
Telling them apart
They look similar from the road and they aren’t. This is the difference.
| Lagoon | From Arcata | Good for | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lagoon | ≈ 30 min | Paddling, picnics, beach walking | The southernmost and largest. Easy access off 101, a boat launch, and a long sand spit you can walk. The obvious first stop. |
| Stone Lagoon | ≈ 40 min | Boat-in camping, kayaking, quiet | Has the visitor center and the boat-in campsites at Ryan’s Cove—you paddle to your pitch. The most rewarding of the four. |
| Freshwater Lagoon | ≈ 45 min | RV camping, fishing, sunsets | The northernmost, right beside the highway near Orick. The spit alongside is a long-standing RV camping strip. |
| Dry Lagoon | ≈ 40 min | Birding, beach access, trailhead | Drained by settlers hoping to farm it. It didn’t take, and it’s now marsh—which turned out to be better for wildlife than pasture. |
Big Lagoon has both county and state park land around it, and facilities and fees differ between them. Check signage at the entrance you use.
On foot
A level walk down the strip of sand and forest between Stone Lagoon and the Pacific—lagoon on one side, open ocean on the other, the whole way.
Stone Lagoon spit walk
Park at the Day Use Area or Dry Lagoon and walk the level sand-and-forest strip between the sheltered lagoon and the Pacific. Ryan’s Cove boat-in camp and Sharp Point are along the way.
What to do
The signature
Flat, sheltered water with surf breaking a few hundred yards away over the spit. Kayaks and paddleboards both work. Stone Lagoon is the classic, and it’s the one with somewhere to paddle to.
Bring your own or arrange a rental in Arcata or Trinidad before you drive up—there’s nothing at the lagoons.
Genuinely unusual
Environmental campsites on Stone Lagoon that you reach by paddling across. Forested, quiet, and about as far from a campground as camping gets while still being a booked pitch.
Reserve ahead and check what’s currently open—sites are limited and seasonal.
Spring only
A short nature trail through wild azaleas that bloom in late spring. Narrow window, and worth timing a visit around if you’re here in May.
Ask at the visitor center what stage the bloom is at before driving up.
Six miles of it
Wide, wild, and usually empty—because everyone is either at Moonstone to the south or in the parks to the north. Driftwood, shorebirds, and the ocean doing what it does on this coast.
Free
Pelicans, waterfowl, raptors and shorebirds. Dry Lagoon’s marsh is the richest of the four, and elk are often on the prairies nearby.
Binoculars materially change this stop.
In season
Trout and salmon in the lagoons, subject to current regulations. Grey whales pass offshore between December and April—the high pullouts along 101 here are good vantage points.
Check current fishing regulations before you cast; they change.
Practical
Where to stay
There’s nothing to stay in at the lagoons beyond the campsites. Bayside puts you thirty to forty-five minutes away with a kitchen, a town, and the rest of the coast on the doorstep.
Thirty minutes to Big Lagoon, forty-five to Freshwater and Orick, fifteen to Moonstone Beach, and an hour to Prairie Creek. Sleeps sixteen, with a full kitchen for packing a lagoon picnic and a hot tub for afterwards.