Coastal Trail: Tey-wo-lew Section

This is about 3 miles one way from Carruthers Cove along the old Coastal Drive roadbed to the Alder Camp Road junction. Published distances run up to 3.3 miles for the corridor; the mapped named line here ends at the junction. Allow about 1.5–2 hours one way. If you leave your car at the southern pullouts and walk back, the outing is roughly 5.9 miles and usually takes 2.5–3 hours. Go for the unusual old road and a walk above the Pacific, not a continuous ocean panorama; trees screen much of the water.

The first stretch is a broad, mostly gentle dirt road with a partly overgrown old vista turnout. At the Alder Camp access fork, keep straight on the signed Coastal Trail; the wider road turns right toward camp. Beyond it, the slumped road narrows to singletrack and drops steeply through spruce and alder. Expect ruts and uneven footing there, and the same climb if you return the way you came. The route meets the main Alder Camp road at its northern end.

Just over two miles from Carruthers Cove, a gap in the trees gives a view toward Split Rock and the shore. Elsewhere you often hear the surf more than you see it, and fog can close the occasional view. High Bluff Overlook is a separate road walk of about a quarter mile beyond the trail’s northern junction; it is the better choice if you want a broad coastal view.

This path follows a former Highway 101 alignment that later became Coastal Drive. Repeated slumps led to its closure to cars in 2011, after which walkers and cyclists continued to use it. “Tey-wo-lew” comes from a Yurok name for the Pacific coast. The bluffs are made of weak sandstone and shale, and heavy rain and rapid uplift keep this stretch prone to erosion; the slumped section is the clearest sign of that history.

Start from the wide pullouts at the end of Coastal Drive near Carruthers Cove. High Bluff Overlook has parking beyond the northern junction, so use two cars for a point-to-point walk or return to the start on foot. No food, drinking water or toilets were found at the trailhead or along the route. Pets aren’t allowed on park trails. Check park conditions before setting out because slides have altered the old road before.