How do the tide windows work on a Lost Coast Trail permit itinerary?

Three sections of the 25-mile route disappear under water at high tide, and your entire itinerary gets built backward from when those zones are passable. The first runs between Sea Lion Gulch and Randall Creek, and the longest stretches about 5 miles through the Miller Flat area before the exit at Gitchell Creek. Getting caught mid-zone as the tide comes in is the trail's genuinely dangerous scenario, so you cross on a falling or low tide with margin to spare, never racing a rising one.

The planning method: get a tide table for your dates before you reserve, find the low tides that fall in daylight, and place your camps so each morning starts you at the entrance of a zone with a usable window. Popular camps at creek mouths like Cooksie Creek around mile 6.8 and Randall Creek near mile 8.8 exist precisely because they bracket the restricted sections.

Budget speed honestly. Sand, cobbles, and boulders hold most parties to 1 to 1.5 miles per hour, roughly half normal backpacking pace, which is why the standard trip is 3 to 4 days rather than a casual two. Most hikers go north to south, Mattole Beach to Black Sands Beach, and arrange a shuttle since the trailheads are hours apart by road. Rogue waves deserve the same respect as tides: never turn your back on the ocean here.