The Mattole Road runs west and south from Ferndale, climbing steeply out of the Eel River valley before dropping down to the rugged coast at Cape Mendocino — the westernmost point in California. This drive is one of the most dramatic in the state: the road is narrow and unpaved in sections, the coastal scenery is entirely undeveloped, and the beaches at the bottom are wild, wave-hammered, and almost never crowded.
The Cape Mendocino lighthouse, decommissioned in 1951, has been relocated to Ferndale and can be visited there, but the cape itself still has the raw power of a headland that has wrecked ships for centuries. The route continues south through the Lost Coast proper — a section of California coast too steep and remote for Highway 1 — where the King Range National Conservation Area protects some of the wildest coastline in the state. Allow four to five hours for the full round trip from Ferndale.