BLM Public Land 
California Coastal National Monument ~ Viewpoint ~ Trinidad Offshore Rocks
Photo © Bob Wick
Trinidad Bay spotlights the California Coastal National Monument like nowhere else! Gaze from the cliff at the end of Trinity Street, near the Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse in the small City of Trinidad, 14 miles north of Arcata.
The view out to sea crosses Prisoner Rock to the more that 200’ high Pilot Rock. Looking south down the coast to Button Rock and Camel Rock are numerous other monument rocks of various shapes and sizes. To the north across the east side of the Trinidad Head (a 350’ high wave-shaped coastal landform known as a tombolo) the view is to the monument's Flatiron Rock, then Green Rock, both bearing colonies of many thousands of Common Murres.
Pewetole Island, covered with Sitka Spruce, can be viewed from the picnicking area at Trinidad State Park, at the north end of town off Stagecoach Road.
A rugged, railroad tie stair-trail leads from the Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse down about a 100 yards to the beach.
The beaches are rich with tide pools, and the bird and pinnaped habitat offered by the monument rocks makes kayaking in the area especially exciting.
The hiking trail around Trinidad Head provides opportunities for a closer view of Flatiron, Blank, Pilot and Prisoner Rocks.
Year-round
Fees: None
ADA Accessibility NotesParking spaces & ramp to Memorial Lighthouse, parking lot at Trinidad State Park.
photos
Mark Sommer wrote on March 03, 2010: I live along this extraordinary stretch of coastline and often kayak in Trinidad Bay. I've traveled to many remote coastal destinations around the world and have never found one that surpasses Trinidad Bay in its splendor, diversity, and tranquility. It is home to rare and endangered species of all kinds -- animal, plant, and, not least of all, human. Like others who live in or visit this region, I feel blessed to be here and am committed to its preservation as a natural and spiritual treasure.