Can you camp at Gitchell Creek on the Lost Coast Trail during impassable tide dates?
The Lost Coast Trail's Zone 3 impassable stretch runs from Miller Flat to Gitchell Creek, and BLM publishes specific dates each year when the tide never drops low enough to cross it safely. Hikers planning a trip around Gitchell Creek often want to know whether an impassable-dates listing means the area is closed to overnight camping.
1 Answer✓ Answered
Camping at or near Gitchell Creek is not shut down by an impassable-tide listing. The impassable-zone designation on the Lost Coast Trail describes when it is unsafe to walk through a specific tidal stretch, not a closure of camping along the trail.
BLM's Zone 3 runs from Miller Flat to Gitchell Creek, and is listed as "passable under 3 ft" tide. Source: https://www.recreation.gov/permits/445864
For 2026, Recreation.gov lists specific dates when the tide does not drop low enough anywhere in the day to safely cross the three impassable zones, including July 23, several dates in August and September, and dates running into October and November. Source: https://www.recreation.gov/permits/445864
BLM's own trail page instructs hikers to carry a tide table and to move through the Punta Gorda, Sea Lion Gulch to Randall Creek, and Miller Flat to Gitchell Creek stretches "during an outgoing tide of three feet or less" specifically "to avoid being trapped." Source: https://www.blm.gov/visit/lost-coast-trail
That same BLM page separately addresses camping, stating only that there is no camping at the Black Sands Beach trailhead and that camping is allowed north of Telegraph Creek, with no mention of camping being restricted on impassable-tide dates. Source: https://www.blm.gov/visit/lost-coast-trail
Overnight camping anywhere along the Lost Coast Trail still requires a Backcountry Permit, obtained through Recreation.gov or as a walk-up permit at the King Range Visitor Center. Source: https://www.blm.gov/visit/lost-coast-trail
In practice, this means a permit holder with dates on the impassable list can still camp at Gitchell Creek. What changes is trail logistics: that person should not attempt to walk through the Miller Flat to Gitchell Creek tidal stretch during those dates, and should instead time arrival or departure from camp around the tide charts, since BLM warns being caught in one of these zones at high tide can be fatal. Checking a current tide table against the BLM impassable-dates list before setting an itinerary remains essential, since the specific unsafe dates change from year to year.
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