SA Report: Three days, three paddles

Trip date: 9/7/2013

Launch: Humboldt Lagoons State Park, Stone Lagoon visitor center.

Permit/Pass: None

Directions: Take Highway 101 (Redwood Highway) 40 miles north from Eureka or 55 south from Crescent City to Stone Lagoon. The visitor center and parking lot are directly adjacent to the road. The launch area is down a gravel access path from the north end of the lot. Some people park on the small beach, but consider leaving room for others to launch by returning your car to the lot.

Portage: None

Type: Loop

Distance: 6.3 miles (includes beach hike, approx. 1 mile)

Rating: Easy - Moderate (factors: wind, fog, shoals)

Synopsis: A beautiful place to paddle, Stone Lagoon is quiet and generally calm. Surrounded mostly by hills and and marsh areas, there is a strand of dunes separating the lagoon from the breaking surf, where walk north along the beach brings you alongside and under the Gyon Bluffs which separate the further north Freshwater Lagoon from the ocean. Go early before the wind comes up.

Stone Lagoon - Humboldt Lagoons SP

Navigation:

  -- From the gravel beach make a determination about the wind strength and direction, then head out. For this trip I followed the shore south to the marshes. (There are boat in campsites and trails available in the area. Just before I launched a trio of stand-up paddlers headed directly west across the lagoon to a cove with a trail that heads up over the bluffs.)

  -- Stay alert for shallow flats. I had to skirt the southwestern most end of the lagoon due to shoal areas.

  -- Continue your circumnavigation until you reach the strand separating the lagoon from the ocean. At the northern end of the strand I landed my boat and hiked up the beach for a half-mile or so (until I was stopped by high tide).

  -- After returning to the kayak, I glided with the light breeze along the north and the eastern shore back to the launch area.

Photo Gallery: Stone Lagoon