Carruthers Cove Beach

Located in the northern end of Humboldt County, Carruthers Cove Beach is a beautiful beach with gray sand, interesting rock formations, and sparse vegetation. This beach is situated below oceanfront bluffs and is a part of a state park called Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It is important to note that despite its name, Carruthers Cove Beach is not present within a cove. This beach is surrounded by dense forests. The Johnson Creek flows through the beach into the Pacific Ocean.

Carruthers Cove Beach does not have lifeguards or any other amenities, so plan your trip accordingly. 

Carruthers Cove Beach offers many fun activities including hiking, sunbathing, beachcombing, wildlife watching, and fishing. The water near this beach is generally unsafe for recreational aquatic activities including swimming and surfing as the water here has cold temperature, dangerous waves, and extremely strong currents. Depending on the time of the year, you can see many kinds of animals in the water near this beach including seals and migrating whales. If you are planning to fish in the water near Carruthers Cove Beach, please ensure that you comply with the local fishing regulations. During low tide, you can explore the interesting rock formations present around Carruthers Cove Beach, which also offer amazing Instagram-worthy photos. 

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park has many amazing hiking and biking trails which you can use to explore its vibrant redwood forests. In addition, you can see many wonderful animals and birds here including squirrels, bats, bears, coyotes, elk, deer, crows, ravens, jays, and murrelets. Another beautiful natural feature of this park is the Fern Canyon, whose towering walls are draped with seven different varieties of ferns. As an interesting fact, this canyon was featured in the Jeff Goldblum movie The Lost World: Jurassic Park. This unique canyon offers a slightly strenuous yet memorable hiking experience. However, if you are planning to hike in Fern Canyon, we recommend foregoing doing so during rainy weather as the canyon becomes waterlogged and dangerous during this weather. The state park also has multiple campgrounds. If you are planning to camp in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, you can visit the state park’s webpage on the California Department of Parks and Recreation’s website for more useful information about the camping amenities, rules, and charges in the state park.

Getting to Carruthers Cove Beach can be slightly difficult - from United States Highway 101, you need to turn towards Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway Drive via Exit 765. From Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway you need to turn towards Coastal Drive, which has an unmarked road entrance near Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway’s end. You need to drive along Coastal Drive until you reach the spot which prohibits further access of this road to vehicles. A small free parking lot is present near this spot, along with a sign which denotes the beginning of the Carruthers Cove Trail (which is the access trail for Carruthers Cove Beach). From this parking lot you need to undertake a grueling one-mile hike along Carruthers Cove Trail which will lead you to Carruthers Cove Beach. It is important to note that Coastal Drive is a narrow road and large vehicles and RVs are prohibited here. In addition, we also recommend that you visit the beach wearing appropriate footwear as it is known to have driftwood.

As an interesting fact, the beach gets its name from the misspelled surname of J.H Crothers, who was a newspaper publisher and owned a vacation home near the beach.

There are many attractions near Carruthers Cove Beach. Klamath River Radar Station (also known as Radar Station B-71) is an important historical landmark. Klamath River Radar Station was an early warning radar station used by the United States Armed Forces during World War Two. This station was actually disguised to look like an ordinary farmhouse to avoid detection by the enemy. It is currently a part of the United States’ National Register of Historic Places. Yurok Country Visitor Center has interesting exhibits on the history and culture of the Native American Yurok people. If you are looking for another attraction near Carruthers Cove Beach, the Tour Thru tree (also known as Tour-Thru tree) is a giant redwood tree with a large tunnel running through it. This tree is a popular local attraction and many cars drive through the tunnel within this tree every year. In addition, the area around this tree has picnic tables, restrooms, a gift shop, and is also known to be home to many emu birds.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Carruthers Cove Beach. STEELHEAD LODGE Restaurant offers excellent steaks, seafood, and barbecued dishes. Log Cabin Diner offers fantastic breakfast dishes including eggs, burritos, sandwiches, French toasts, and biscuits and gravy. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Carruthers Cove Beach, the modestly priced Pem-Mey Express Chester’s Chicken offers delicious fried chicken, burgers, sandwiches, breakfast dishes, hot dogs, tacos, and burritos.  

If you are looking for a hotel near Carruthers Cove Beach, there are many great options nearby. The 3-Star Historic Requa Inn offers many amenities including a gazebo with river views, a hot tub, freshly baked cookies, a sunroom, a restaurant, and a lounge with a fireplace. A more affordable hotel is 2-Star Holiday Inn Express Klamath - Redwood National Park Area which offers many amenities including complimentary breakfast and a pool. The hotel is situated adjacent to a casino with a restaurant. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Carruthers Cove Beach, the modestly priced Ravenwood Motel & Suites offers many amenities including complimentary breakfast and a guest lounge which is available in the afternoon.