South Beach and Backdunes Trails

Little River State Beach

(Map link.)

After having a look at the Trinidad Coastal Land Trust property on the north side of Little River, I stopped off at Little River State Beach on the south side of the river. It is free to visit. There are two little dirt lots, one each for the North Beach Trail and the South Beach Trail. I stopped at the South Beach Trail intending to get up to the river and wander a bit. The beach trails go to the beach, as advertised, but there is also the Backdunes Trail and the Nearshore Dunes Trail for north/sough travel.

sandy trail blocked by a vehicle gate surrounded by mounds of yellow — South Beach Trail as it crosses the dunes to the beach.

I must admit, I don't really see dunes as I look across this sandy area, just great mounds of yellow lupine. The smell of it is strong and sweet and certainly helps absorb all attention with the flowers. In southern and central California, it is native and vulnerable. Here, it is an invader. It has been removed from the other areas, but there doesn't appear to have been a great effort here.

bright yellow flowers — The yellow bush lupine could contrast nicely with the various purples, but there certainly aren't many of those here.

I turned at the first junction, marked Nearshore Dunes Trail, and started north. I seemed to be headed toward a wall of sand.

paths in the sand — Junctions are marked by posts with signs on the faces.

sand wall ahead — The sand wall looks just tall enough to be very annoying to go up and over, since it is sand.

Everything changes at the top of the sand wall. At first glance, the sand beyond is bare. No invasive lupines. No invasive dune grasses. Ropes surround a lot of the area because it is snowy plover breeding season and these areas are set aside for their nests. It was probably cleared of all that to give the birds some nesting area. Determining where the trail goes is difficult. I guessed along the north edge of the generally cleared sand, but there's a wide space between that and the ropes to protect the nests. I seem to have guessed correctly.

wide sandy expanses — The high point of the hike at the top of the sand wall. It must be at least 20 feet up. It gives an expansive view of the snowy plover nesting area and Trinidad Head.

yellow balls of flowers — There's space for the yellow sand verbena where it's sandy.

tiny yellow pea relatives — The depressions are all occupied by trefoils, a lupine relative. (Also invasive.)

puff of flowers — Seaside buckwheat is very plain from a distance, but a delight close up.

The vegetation changed as I got closer to Little River. There is probably a little more soil there, not to mention water. There's also less invasive plant removal.

ball of grand purple — Balls of purple springbank clover.

disks of yellow — The dune tansy is still a dune plant.

bushes along the visible river — Another sandy "high point" on the trail gives a view of Little River and the growth near it.

I took a right at an unsigned corner that took me toward US-101, then turned back. It seemed to be going to a fence, and I wasn't out to cross the river on the highway. I wandered along a second trail near the river going toward the highway. This actually connected to the other, although there was also a visible hole in the fence if using the bridge was what I wanted. I turned back and started along more confused trails.

freeway bridge over Little River — The crossing over Little River.

pink that will be berries one day — A few flowers of evergreen huckleberry beside the river.

Canada goose family on the water — Canada geese are regular visitors.

yellow, purple, and in between lupines — Yellow bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus) hybridizes with the local seashore lupine (Lupinus littoralis), which may or may not be what's gone on here.

wood remains of something — One trail option drops down to a too soggy area near the river here beside the wooden remains of something across from the land trust property.

Eventually I found myself at the beach and I headed south along it.

stacks off shore of Trinidad — North from the dune edge.

waves off shore of Arcata — South from the dune edge. The kite boarders are still out there.

dunes, hills, and mountains — Layers of land to the east.

surfing with kites — Kite boarders playing in the surf.

I decided to head back into the dunes along the corridor for the North Beach Trail. I fancied seeing a snowy plover nest, but they are a depression in the sand with an egg or two that looks like a rock among tucked in. I certainly didn't notice any. No birds were sitting, either.

trees where the land starts growing — South through the dunes to the tree covered hills around McKinleyville.

bright bit of yellow — A silverweed in the sand.

purple and white — Not another lupine. Silky beach pea is a sweet pea.

I thought there was supposed to be a trail closer to the beach going south, but certainly couldn't find anything like that and ended up following the original trail back to the car.

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