High Bluff Beach

Located to the south of the Klamath River, High Bluff Beach is a narrow rock-and-sand beach. This beach is situated below steep and rocky oceanfront bluffs and is a part of a national park known as Redwood National Park. 

While High Bluff Beach does not have lifeguards, the blufftop area above the beach has restrooms, picnic tables, barbecue spots, hiking trails, and observation points. 

High Bluff Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, hiking, picnicking, surfing, and wildlife watching. The water near this beach is extremely unsafe for recreational aquatic activities including kayaking, and paddleboarding as the water here has strong waves, dangerous currents, and cold temperatures. In addition, the rocky shoreline around the beach can inflict grave injuries. Despite the unsafe water conditions, surfers occasionally surf in the water near this beach as it offers some consistent and fun surfing waves. However, if you are planning to surf here, we recommend being very careful and foregoing surfing here if you are a beginner. Depending on the time of the year, you can see many animals in the water near the beach including seals, sea lions, and migrating gray whales. The blufftop area above the beach has the High Bluff Overlook which offers marvelous Instagram-worthy views of the North California shoreline and the Pacific Ocean. This blufftop area also has interpretive displays about the local geology and is also a great bird-watching spot.

Getting to High Bluff Beach is easy - you need to turn towards Klamath Beach Road from United States Highway 101 via Exit-768 (also known as the Klamath Beach Road Exit) just south of the Klamath River Bridge. From Klamath Beach Road, turn towards Coastal Drive which eventually leads to the free parking lot for the High Bluff Overlook. You need to park here and then walk to this overlook via an access trail. After getting to High Bluff Overlook, you need to take another access trail leading north to an old blufftop rock quarry above High Bluff Beach. From this blufftop area, getting down to the beach can be very hard and unsafe as the bluff sides here are steep and rocky.

There are many attractions near High Bluff Beach.  The Old Douglas Memorial Bridge Site is a remnant of the Douglas Memorial Bridge which was built in the 1920s and was irreparably damaged by a flood in 1964. This bridge was formerly a part of the Redwood Highway and its most remarkable features were the statues of California bears present along its edges. You can still see some of the statues present on the site even today. 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 High Bluff 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.

If you get hungry, there are many restaurants near High Bluff Beach. The Historic Requa Inn hotel’s restaurant offers fantastic breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes. Woodland Villa Cabins has a restaurant that offers delicious breakfast dishes, pizzas, chili, soups, and salads. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near High Bluff Beach, the modestly priced Country Club Bar & Grill offers amazing burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, and fries.  

If you are looking for a hotel near High Bluff Beach, there are many great nearby options. The 3-Star The 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 Woodland Villa Cabins that offers many amenities including a restaurant, a grocery store, picnic tables, porch swings, and barbecue spots. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near High Bluff Beach, the modestly priced Ravenwood Motel & Suites offers many amenities including complimentary breakfast and a guest lounge which is available in the afternoon.