Lost Coast Trail Shuttle, Black Sands Beach to Mattole
The interactive planner compares daily legs and tide windows in either hiking direction.
The Lost Coast Trail runs one way, from the mouth of the Mattole River to Black Sands Beach at Shelter Cove, and the two trailheads sit about two hours apart on narrow mountain roads. Most hikers park at Black Sands Beach, ride a shuttle van north to Mattole, and walk back to the car. The Bureau of Land Management's trip planning guide lists two shuttle companies. Confirm service for your dates when booking. We rode the 2:00 PM van from Black Sands Beach in February 2022, and the notes from that booking run through this page.
Shuttle contacts in the BLM planning guide
A business needs a BLM Special Recreation Permit for shuttle driving to carry hikers for hire on public land in the King Range. The agency's trip planning guide names two companies. The listing records the agency's published contacts, while availability and operating dates need confirmation with the company.
Lost Coast Adventure Tours
- Phone (707) 382-1959, with (707) 502-7514 as a second number on the BLM's list. The office sits at 210 Wave Drive in Whitethorn, near Shelter Cove, and answers weekdays from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM in season. Off-season hours are irregular, so email instead. Website lostcoastadventures.com.
- The standard run picks hikers up at the Black Sands Beach Trailhead and drops them at the Mattole trailhead. Reverse shuttles and custom runs are available on request. The vans carry up to eleven people.
- Meet in the top main parking lot at Black Sands Beach 15 minutes before departure.
- Bear canisters rent from the company for $22 a trip, in BearVault BV450 and BV500 sizes. The BLM rents canisters for $5 at the King Range office in Shelter Cove.
- Dogs ride for a fee, two dogs at most per shuttle.
- Cancellation terms appear in two versions on the company's pages, one with a refund up to a week out less a $50 fee and one with a partial refund up to 48 hours out. Ask which applies when you book. A weather cancellation gets a full refund.
Mendocino Insider Tours
- Phone (707) 962-4131, email info@mendoinsidertours.com. The company is based in Fort Bragg, south of the King Range.
- The BLM lists the company as permitted for Lost Coast transport in the trip planning guide last updated in November 2023. The company's own listings describe redwood, wine, and custom tours, so confirm that Lost Coast runs are still offered for your dates.
What the shuttle costs
Ask the operator for a current quote for your date and group size. Confirm the total fare, minimum passenger requirement, dog charges, and cancellation terms before paying. A two-car trip costs no fare but adds the two-hour drive twice, once to stage a car and once to collect the other.
Why most hikers park at Black Sands Beach
- The fixed time comes first. A shuttle at the start of the trip runs on a schedule you set weeks ahead. The finish depends on the tide in the zone from Miller Flat to Gitchell Creek, which can hold a group on the beach until early afternoon, so a pickup booked for the end of the walk races the ocean.
- The car waits at the finish. Shelter Cove has the King Range office, a general store with fuel, places to eat, and rooms for a group that finishes late.
- Walking south keeps the summer wind behind you. In summer the prevailing wind on this coast blows from the northwest.
The Mattole Campground and Trailhead sign, where the van let us out in February 2022.
Our shuttle in February 2022
We booked Lost Coast Adventure Tours for three people at 2:00 PM on Friday, February 25, from the top main parking lot at the Black Sands Beach Trailhead. The confirmation asked us to arrive 15 minutes early, said the driver would wait only 15 minutes past the departure time, and said a missed shuttle earned no refund. We left Davis at seven that morning to make the van with room to spare.
The ride took about two hours over the King Range roads, and the last miles to the Mattole trailhead run on dirt. Our trip notes told everyone to take something for motion sickness, and the advice was sound, because the road winds and climbs for most of the ride. We reached Mattole in the late afternoon and camped at the Mattole Campground that night. The campground was first come, first served, and the plan counted on the quiet of the off-season. We brought cash for the fee in 2022, and the BLM now takes cards at an on-site kiosk. The next morning we started south on the tide, as the tide chart describes.
Fitting the shuttle to the tides
An afternoon van puts you at Mattole with daylight left to set up camp, and the walk starts on the next morning's tide. Our 2:00 PM ride worked that way. A morning van can let a group reach Punta Gorda or beyond on the first afternoon, as long as the tide window allows. Check the window for the zone from Sea Lion Gulch to Randall Creek on the first full day, because that zone needs the tide under 2.5 feet for about four hours of walking.
The Mattole Campground has 23 sites at $15 a night, first come, first served, paid by card at an on-site kiosk. The campground has vault toilets and no drinking water, so carry water in or treat creek water. The Mattole trailhead and campground details cover the overnight stop, while the Black Sands Beach section covers the finish.
Running your own shuttle with two cars
- Between the trailheads the BLM allows two hours. Fill the tank first, since fuel along the way is limited to the Honeydew store and the Shelter Cove General Store.
- To Mattole from the north, take the Ferndale exit from US 101, follow the signs through Ferndale to Petrolia, and turn right on Lighthouse Road a mile past Petrolia. The BLM allows an hour and a half for the 42 miles. From the South Fork and Honeydew exit, the road reaches Honeydew in 23 miles, and the Mattole trailhead lies 18.5 miles past Honeydew.
- To Black Sands Beach, take the Redway and Garberville exit from US 101 and follow the signs 22 miles to Shelter Cove, about 45 minutes.
- Road work on Mattole Road includes a bridge replacement over the Mattole River with a detour bridge, according to the BLM's July 2026 report. Lighthouse Road can slide out in winter. Check the Humboldt County road conditions page before you drive.
Questions people ask
Who runs the Lost Coast Trail shuttle?
The BLM's King Range trip planning guide names two companies with the Special Recreation Permit needed to carry hikers for hire, Lost Coast Adventure Tours in Shelter Cove at (707) 382-1959 and Mendocino Insider Tours in Fort Bragg at (707) 962-4131.
How much does the Lost Coast shuttle cost?
Ask the operator for a current quote for your date and group size. Confirm the total fare, minimum passenger requirement, dog charges, and cancellation terms before paying.
How long is the shuttle ride from Black Sands Beach to Mattole?
About two hours, which matches the BLM's drive time between the two trailheads. The roads are narrow, steep, and winding, so anyone prone to car sickness should take a remedy before boarding.
Where does the Lost Coast shuttle pick up?
Lost Coast Adventure Tours meets hikers in the top main parking lot at the Black Sands Beach Trailhead in Shelter Cove and asks them to arrive 15 minutes before departure. Hikers leave the car there and walk back to the lot from Mattole.
Do you need a shuttle for the Lost Coast Trail?
The trail runs one way between two trailheads about two hours apart by road, so a group needs either a shuttle or two cars. A two-car trip adds about four hours of driving before the walk starts.
Plan the rest of the trip
The Lost Coast Trail guide lays out the walk in two or three nights with camps, permits, and a free GPX, and the tide chart shows when each tide zone opens through next year.
Sources
The permit rule for shuttle companies, the two permitted companies and their numbers, the advice to call when you reserve the permit, and the drive times come from the BLM's King Range trip planning guide and driving directions. Road work and fuel come from the King Range roads and trails report of July 29, 2026, and the campground details from the BLM's Mattole Campground page. The pickup point, van size, rentals, dog rule, and cancellation terms come from the Lost Coast Adventure Tours trip planner and booking pages, checked October 22, 2026. Our own booking details come from the confirmation for our February 2022 trip. Confirm everything with the company and with the King Range office at (707) 986-5400 before you go.
Plan the trip, then walk the plan
Backpackers Friend opens the Lost Coast plan as a trip on your phone, snaps the route to the trail, and lays the days out on a topo map. Planning is free with no account. Premium adds offline maps so the route works with no signal, plus off-trail alerts for the bluffs where the tread fades out.
