Surfers wend their way to Little Black Sands Beach—a strand known for its spray, solitude, and prime surfing. Photograph by Catherine Karnow

| Learn more |

It might be hard to believe, but there’s still a stretch of “undiscovered” shore in California.

Sea lions take refuge at Shelter Cove, a Humboldt County boundary separating earth, sea, and sky. Photograph by Catherine Karnow

 

 

 

Writer Owen Edwards and Capuzzi (his feisty Jack Russell terrier) set out on a road trip, leaving behind the city of San Francisco to drive some five hours north to Humboldt County. What they find is an off-the-beaten-track collection of towns and characters—just rewards for the curious explorer. Edwards meets a ZZ Top-lookalike surfer driving a ’58 Chevy Delray. He stops for a bite in a town where the general store is still action central and he learns that you’re better off not asking what folks in these parts do for a living. “Mostly, we’re a bunch of outlaws,” one local explains.

Naturally, dramatic coastal scenery comes with the territory, as does a fine dogs-allowed inn that combines Victorian charm with a delectably modern comfort level. “As I turned south,” Edwards writes, “I had the peculiar sense that the timeless places I had just seen might just be struck, like stage sets, until the next time I decided to show up.”

Read “Let’s Get Lost” in the November/December 1999 issue of TRAVELER.