Lost Coast Headlands
40.5634, -124.3498
- Nearest town
- Ferndale
- Map status
- Verified pin
- Visit conditions
- 1 update
- Research reviewed
- Aug 17, 2026
Conditions
Check before visiting
Fleener Creek Trailhead: Closed indefinitely. The trail and parking area went into the ocean in a February 24, 2024 landslide, and slide activity has continued
Field guide
Know before you go
- Size
- 463 acres of coastal bluff, grassland and patches of coastal forest
- Location
- About 6 miles west of Ferndale, 25 miles south of Eureka
- Hours
- Day use only, sunrise to sunset
- Fee
- None stated on the BLM page
- Permit
- None required
- Trail to the beach
- Half a mile from the main parking lot. The only distance BLM publishes for the property
- Interpretive trail
- At the main day use area just south of Centerville Beach, with bluff vistas
- Dogs
- BLM publishes no policy either way. Call the Arcata Field Office, 707-825-2300
- Bikes
- BLM publishes no policy either way
- Horses
- Listed by BLM among permitted activities
- Prohibited
- Hunting and target shooting
- Facilities
- Parking lot and information kiosk. No restrooms or water stated by BLM
- Getting there
- Highway 101 to the Ferndale exit, 5 miles west to town, right onto Ocean Avenue off Main Street, then 7 miles. The road alternates between dirt and pavement
- Designation
- Described in BLM's 2024 closure announcement as part of the California Coastal National Monument
- Watersheds
- Includes portions of Fleener Creek and Guthrie Creek
The place
About Lost Coast Headlands
Much of the Fleener Creek Trail and its parking area fell into the Pacific in a landslide on February 24, 2024. BLM closed the trailhead indefinitely a few weeks later, reported that slide activity was continuing, and has been weighing whether to repair or relocate the site since. Fleener Creek was the best-known way in. It isn't a way in now.
What BLM points people to instead is the main day use area just south of Centerville Beach, where an interpretive trail runs the bluff with wide ocean views. From the main parking lot down to the beach is half a mile. That half mile is the only trail distance BLM publishes for the entire property.
Those bluffs cover 463 acres of rolling hills, grassland and patches of coastal forest south of the Eel River mouth, taking in parts of the Fleener Creek and Guthrie Creek watersheds. BLM's 2024 closure announcement describes the area as part of the California Coastal National Monument. Day use only, sunrise to sunset, and no fee is posted.
Getting there is the part to plan for. Leave Highway 101 at the Ferndale exit and drive five miles west into town, then turn right off Main Street onto Ocean Avenue and continue seven miles to the trailhead. BLM's own wording is that the road "will alternate between dirt and pavement." It takes longer than seven miles sounds like.
One gap worth naming: BLM publishes no dog policy and no bicycle policy for Lost Coast Headlands. Neither appears on the permitted list or the prohibited list. Hiking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, environmental education, photography, bird watching, wildflower viewing and beachcombing are all listed as allowed. Hunting and target shooting are prohibited outright.
Call the Arcata Field Office on 707-825-2300 before you assume either way, and ask about Fleener Creek while you're on the line.
Same area
Explore nearby
Local planning questions
Frequently asked
Is the Fleener Creek Trail open?
No. BLM closed the Fleener Creek Trailhead indefinitely in March 2024 after a February 24 landslide took much of the trail and the parking area into the ocean, with slide activity continuing. BLM has been exploring options to repair or relocate the site. Use the main day use area just south of Centerville Beach instead, and confirm current status with the Arcata Field Office on 707-825-2300.
Are dogs allowed at Lost Coast Headlands?
BLM doesn't publish a dog policy for this property. Dogs appear on neither the permitted activities list nor the prohibited list, so there's nothing official to cite in either direction. Call the Arcata Field Office on 707-825-2300 rather than assuming, since other BLM land in the area does allow dogs. The same gap applies to bicycles.
How do you get to Lost Coast Headlands?
Exit Highway 101 at Ferndale and drive five miles west into town. From Main Street, turn right onto Ocean Avenue and continue seven miles to the trailhead. BLM warns that the road alternates between dirt and pavement, so allow more time than the mileage suggests.
How much does it cost to visit Lost Coast Headlands?
BLM states no fee for the property and no permit is required. It's day use only, sunrise to sunset, with a parking lot and information kiosk at the end of Ocean Avenue and no other facilities published.
What can you do at Lost Coast Headlands?
BLM lists hiking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, environmental education, photography, bird watching, wildflower viewing and beachcombing. The interpretive trail at the day use area south of Centerville Beach gives the bluff views, and it's half a mile from the main parking lot down to the beach. Hunting and target shooting are prohibited.
Official and supporting sources
Research reconciled 2026-08-17. Closures, fees, permits and hours can change.