Behind the Redwood curtain, by the Pacific Ocean, lies the small town of Trinidad. Located about 293 miles from San Francisco, it’s a beautiful five-hour drive the closer you get to Trinidad. It can get interesting in the redwood forests, especially at night. When I drove down with my cat Luna, she meowed so insistently that when I eventually found a safe place to pull over, I did so quickly. We sat together under the thickness of forest and I watched her watch the trees. This is Sasquatch country.
Trinidad, part of Humboldt county, is known for many things, including its premium weed production.
This seaside town is also a beautiful place to visit. Sue-meg Park (previously Patrick’s Point Park) is full of hiking trails, campgrounds, and beaches, some more accessible than others. You can get to Agate Beach from the park. Maybe there you can discover beautiful agate pieces. There are also clothing-optional beaches.
There are several lagoons and it was at one of these that we went canoeing. I was first introduced to the Humboldt Lagoons State Park on surf checks with Wade. These are Big Lagoon, Stone Lagoon, Freshwater Lagoon, and Dry Lagoon. The last one is a marsh.
This August, we caught the canoeing bug and went out twice. First Big Lagoon, then a few days later, Trinidad Bay.
Canoeing in Big Lagoon
Big Lagoon was the perfect choice for our first outing in Wade’s canoe. A beach separates the 3-mile long lagoon from the ocean, making this sheltered area calm waters to paddle through. It is also a beautiful and serene place, where many species of birds dwell. As we quietly paddled down the waterway toward the highway, we were rewarded with seeing many birds and then with their song as we headed home.
It was a beautiful day – great for our canoeing trip. Big Lagoon is just 7 miles north of Trinidad. Taking Highway 101, look for Big Lagoon Park Road.
Wade and I loaded up the canoe onto the roof and he knotted it in safely, a skill he picked up as a surfer. And we drove to Big Lagoon, a place we’ve been to countless of times for surf checks. So this was exciting.
Don’t have a canoe? You can rent a kayak or paddle board from Kayak Trinidad at Big Lagoon. Or join their Sunday Socials.
Canoeing in Trinidad Bay
Our second canoe adventure was in Trinidad, a beautiful coastal town that has become very popular for its outdoor beauty. Trinidad Bay is a few minutes from the town centre and is a spot for surfers, beach goers, dog walkers, whale watchers…
We headed to Trinidad Bay and arrived at the ramp around 12:30PM. We walked the canoe down to the beach and Wade went to park the truck. It was a beautiful sunny day.
Below are photos of the pier. The ramp we used is on the left side. It’s easy to follow the signs. On the pier there is also a restaurant – Seascape – that’s great for brunch. The harbour properties are owned by the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria.
For the next hour or so, we stayed around the more sheltered area of the bay. At one point, we stopped at a rock to look at the beautiful purple starfish. The seaweed that was just visible below the surface was mesmerizing. Its wondrous shapes swaying with the tide. On the way back in, we even saw a seal contently sunning themself on a rock.
As we were preparing to leave, a couple of teenagers came in on their kayak. I was curious. They had gone fishing and it seemed like one was teaching the other how to clean and gut the fish. So we went to see what they caught. It was a variety, including ling cod. Such brilliant colours. The seagulls were sitting on the water, waiting for the guts that were thrown back to the sea.
