Trinidad Head Beach(Pier Beach, Pocket Beach)

Located along Trinidad Bay, Trinidad Head Beach - also known as Pier Beach - is a popular beach with light brown sand and some rocky parts. This beach is situated below oceanfront bluffs and is divided into two portions by a rock formation named Little Head. A cement pier named Trinidad Pier is also present on this beach. As an interesting fact, this pier is one of the northernmost oceanfront piers in the state of California. A large rocky headland named Trinidad Head is present near this beach - this headland is a part of the California Coastal National Monument. While Trinidad Head Beach does not have lifeguards, the area around this beach has many amenities including hiking trails, restrooms, and boat launching facilities. Dogs are allowed on the beach without a leash.

Trinidad Head Beach offers many fun activities including beachcombing, sunbathing, tidepooling, hiking, fishing, wildlife watching, kayaking, canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, scuba diving, and boating. The water near this beach is sheltered from ocean waves and currents by Trinidad Head - this makes the water here usually calmer than other Trinidad beaches. However, swimming in the water near Trinidad Head Beach is unsafe due to the water’s extremely cold temperatures and unpredictable rip currents. Despite the unfavorable water conditions, scuba divers often go into the water near this beach in order to explore the vibrant underwater biodiversity present here. Depending on the time of the year, you can watch many kinds of fish in the water here including seals and migrating whales. The Trinidad Pier present on this beach offers amazing Instagram worthy views of the Trinidad Bay and the Northern California coastline. This pier is also a great fishing spot - depending on the time of the year, you can catch many kinds of fish in the water near this beach including lingcod, perches, sole, herring, halibut, and salmon. In addition, you can also catch crabs here. However, if you are planning to fish in the water near this beach, we recommend that you comply with the local fishing regulations. You can also charter a private boat from the nearby Trinidad Harbor and embark on an exciting fishing trip around the Humboldt County shoreline.  

Trinidad Head is a 350-feet tall oceanfront headland which is also a California Historical Landmark. This promontory offers an amazing hiking experience along with awesome Instagram-worthy views of the Trinidad Bay and the Humboldt County shoreline. You can explore this headland’s vibrant flora and fauna via the hiking trails present here - you can see rabbits and many kinds of seabirds around Trinidad Head. The headland also has many kinds of plants including seaside daisies and blue lupin. In addition, a stone cross is also present on this promontory. This cross commemorates an earlier wooden cross planted on the spot by Spanish explorers who sought to claim Trinidad Head for Spain in the 18th century. However, if you are planning to hike in Trinidad Head, we recommend careful as the headland also has poison oak. In addition, Trinidad Head also has the Trinidad Head Lighthouse. This lighthouse was originally constructed in 1871 and is a part of the United States National Register of Historic Places. The lighthouse is open for tours on the first Saturday of each month and in June during Trinidad’s annual Fish Festival.

Getting to Trinidad Head Beach is easy - the large free parking lot for this beach is situated near the end of Lighthouse Road. You can easily walk to this beach from the parking lot.

There are many attractions near Trinidad Head Beach. Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse was built in the late 1940s and is a replica of another nearby lighthouse named Trinidad Head Lighthouse, which was constructed in 1871. The Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse also has an original Fresnel lens dating back to the 19th century, which was previously installed in the Trinidad Head Lighthouse. The Trinidad Civic Club organizes an annual ceremony on the lighthouse premises on Memorial Day to commemorate the lives of people who have died or have been buried at sea. The McKinleyville Totem Pole is around 160 feet tall and is reputedly one of the largest totem poles in the world to be carved from a single tree. If you are looking for another attraction near Trinidad Head Beach, Cher-Ae Heights Casino offers exciting games including slots, hold’em poker, and bingo.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Trinidad Head Beach. The Larrupin’ Cafe is an upscale restaurant which serves outstanding New American cuisine. Seascape Restaurant offers delicious seafood. In addition, the restaurant also offers amazing breakfast dishes, salads, and sandwiches. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Trinidad Head Beach, The Lighthouse Grill offers delicious burgers, sandwiches, fries, and seafood. In addition, the restaurant is also famous for serving amazing mash-potato cones.

If you are looking for a hotel near Trinidad Head Beach, there are many great nearby options. Trinidad Bay Bed & Breakfast Hotel offers a homely ambiance. In addition, the hotel offers many amenities including a complimentary breakfast and shuttle facility from a nearby airport. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star View Crest Lodge which offers complimentary breakfast and is located conveniently close to some of the major landmarks in Humboldt County. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Trinidad Head Beach, the 2-Star Trinidad Inn offers many amenities including horseshoe pits, half-basketball courts, fire pits, barbecue grills, and seasonal complimentary continental breakfast.