Sharp Point – Humboldt Lagoons State Park

Saturday, April 25, 2026
Start/Stop: Humboldt Lagoons State Park, Dry Lagoon
California Coastal Trail Humboldt Section 3
Cho’ch-kwee (Dry Lagoon)
Chah-Pekw O’Ket’-toh (Stone Lagoon)
Unceeded land of the Yurok
3.4 miles
409′ ascent
411′ descent
max elevation 299′

The fog is starting to burn off so I’m happy to drive into the sun. I think a hike to Sharp Point requires a beautiful, sunny day. I’ve researched the Yurok name for Sharp Point and it seems that it might not have had a specific name. In an old Yurok geography research paper from 1920, I found a map and the Sharp Point area is labeled as O-kegē or “where it goes over.” But the descriptions of this area seem to confuse this point with another prominent point more north between Freshwater and Stone Lagoons. The research paper also says that this point was called Goat Rock by the whites. I hope to soon stop at the Chah-pekw O’Ket’-toh (Stone Lagoon) Visitor Center for clarification.

I turn off of Highway 101 on McDonald Creek Road and pass an entry point to the Cho’ch-kwee (Dry Lagoon) Primitive Camp. I pull into the parking lot and there are several parked vehicles. As I ready my gear, there’s a group of guys with a ton of gear piled up against some wooden logs. One guy remains while the others head of to get their vehicle and he tells me that they hiked into the Chah-Pekw O’Ket’-toh (Stone Lagoon) Primitive Camp last night and went to Sharp Point this morning.

I use the pit toilets before I head out to the beach about 10:40 am and point myself north towards O-kegē. I check my digital map and head inland to catch the Coastal Trail. I take a selfie with my GoPro and it turns out that I got photo bombed by a giant bumble bee (I think). The tread is easy at first but the trail soon closes in on me as the bouncing call of a Wrentit welcomes me to the forest.

All sorts of flowers are blooming – lupine, iris, and the sweetly fragrant ceanothus punches my senses long before I arrive. Pacific wrens provide the main soundtrack as they call back and forth across the green.

I pass through a zone of Sitka forest before arriving at the never-ending salmonberry bramble that is the trail. I gingerly push forward, dodging and dancing my way through. Luckily salmonberry is not as aggressive and painful as some berries. All of a sudden two Wilson Warblers zip right around my legs. I’m clearly obstructing their use of the trail as their main flight path. The male warbler comes to an abrupt halt in the bush next to me and takes a moment to scold me before flitting off.

The trail opens slightly as I pass near Chah-Pekw O’Ket’-toh (Stone Lagoon). Below is my best view of Chah-Pekw O’Ket’-toh from the trail. There’s a small outcrop of skunk cabbage with flowers ready to bloom where a slug is tucked in taking refuge from the sun.

I hear a different bird so I stop to check it on Merlin as it bounces around in the tree above me. I briefly spot what Merlin thinks is an Orange-crowned Warbler. Luckily, I have the thought to check my map and realize that I have passed the junction to Sharp Point. I turn around and hike a few minutes back to a spot that might be the “trail.” The below left photo is the unsigned start to the Sharp Point spur trail. I crawl under the tree only to be met with more trees. I’m only 20 ft. into the thick forest when I hear some voices. Then I hear a dog barking and can see a German Shepherd through the trees behind me. It seems intent on my location so I click my sticks together and give a loud shout. The humans with the dog call out “Is someone there?”, I respond with a “yes” and then they say something about leashing their dog.

I keep pushing through the maze of trees and brush at a quick pace, thinking that the people will catch me at any second. Having my backpack on definitely makes the crawl a lot slower. Nonetheless, I poke up out of the brush about 10 minutes later and can see Sharp Point just ahead.

The “trail” crosses the little ridge and there’s 180 degrees of ocean in front of me. As I approach the point, a little switchback trail emerges that is lined with succulents.

A couple turns up the trail and then I decide to drop my poles and continue with the full use of my hands. It’s about 12:50 pm when I crawl my way to the top of Sharp Point.

Above: Looking East
Below: Looking North with Freshwater Rocks and Mussel Point visible

View from the top of Sharp Point:
Above Left: Chah-Pekw O’Ket’-toh (Stone Lagoon)
Above Right Top: Looking towards Cho’ch-kwee (Dry Lagoon)
Above Right Bottom: Looking South to O’Ket’-toh (Big Lagoon)
Below Left: Looking North
Below Right: Turkey vulture checking on me after I descend the point.

I don’t spend more than 10 minutes on the point and I’m surprised that the people behind me still have not appeared. I begin the nerve-wracking descent taking great care not to slip on the skree that fills the trail.

The prospect of pushing back through two hours of brush seems daunting. I start to eye the steepness of the cliff and the possibility of descending to the beach instead. Even if I fall, I still think it would be better than the bushwhack! Back on the relatively flat ridge, I take a short standing break to have some water. I pee before I hoist my pack and start down the cliff. I’m only a few steps into my descent and I can tell that someone else has been through here too.

Below Left: The view looking down the slope
Below Middle: The view looking back up the slope
Below Right: Blooming ice plant

It takes about 10 minutes but I carefully make my way down the slope without falling. Thank goodness for my trekking poles!

I’m in luck that low tide is about now, 1:20 pm. High tide ranges from 5-7 feet so this far end of the beach might be trickier and or impassable during high tide. Low tide has left behind lots of little pools of water, rocks covered in muscles, visible sea stars, seaweed coated rocks.

With the sand saturated, liquefaction easily happens under my boots as I tread between the rocks. The gulls, and to my surprise, a Black oystercatcher are on the prowl for some snacks.

As I depart the large rocky section, there are some Semipalmated plovers taking a dip in the edge of a large flat pool-like area.

An hour after descending the cliff, I arrive back at the official California Coastal Trail and follow it back to the parking area. There is definitely some water in Cho’ch-kwee (Dry Lagoon). After 3 hours and 45 minutes, I arrive back at the trailhead just before 2:30 pm. Wow, that was a slow day averaging about one mile per hour.