Starting this fall, backpackers will have to pay a per-visitor fee to overnight along California’s famous Lost Coast Trail. For many hikers, this will be triple the current cost. The update is part of a new Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plan to address crowding and protect high-traffic trails from environmental impacts.
The Lost Coast Trail traces 53 miles of the Northern California coast between Fort Bragg and Fortuna. Along the way, it winds past black-sand beaches, sea lion colonies, coastal waterfalls, and soaring bluffs. As word has gotten out over the past decade, the trail has become increasingly popular. In 2017, land managers imposed a permit system to help regulate traffic. The system limits visitation to 60 hikers per day between May 15 and September 15 each year.
Backpackers already have to pay $6 to book an overnight stay along the Lost Coast Tail via Recreation.gov. But now, land managers are tacking on an additional $12 per hiker. The new Lost Coast Trail fees are expected to go into effect on November 12, 2024.
According to a press release the BLM issued Wednesday, the fees are another response to the increased visitation.
“These fees will help maintain 85 miles of wilderness trail along the Lost Coast, increase public hours at the King Range Visitor Center, improve campgrounds, and support the BLM’s Blueprint for 21st Century Outdoor Recreation,” said Dereck Wilson, manager for the Northern California District, in the statement. (The Blueprint is a strategy document the BLM released in 2023. In it, the agency committed to amplifying its conservation focus. That includes plans to address crowding, shore up impacted areas. and promote equitable outdoor recreation.)
Right now, the BLM has earmarked the proceeds of the new Lost Coast Trail fee for projects directly associated with increased crowding: trail maintenance projects, wages for additional staff, and search and rescue costs. The new overnight hiker fee will apply to all backpackers 17 years of age or older, except for Indigenous people accessing the land for traditional uses.
These aren’t the only fee increases the area will see this year. The Steiner Flat campground in the Trinity Alps area will now cost $15 per site per night, and the lower and upper group Ohl Olson group campsites near Shasta Lake will cost $60 to $80 per night. (Those sites accommodate 30 to 50 campers, respectively, so the fee comes out to $1.60 to $2 per person per night when fully booked.)
Justin Crellin, executive director of Friends of the Lost Coast, called the new fee program “long overdue,” in an interview with the LA Times. He predicts it to result in more consistent and sustainable management of the area going forward.