Virtual Guidebook to the Northern California Coast and Coast Ranges
Blue Lake and Mad River
North of Arcata, Humboldt County California

Highway 299 crosses the high North Coast Ranges just north of Humboldt Bay. It passes through a verdant valley containing the town of Blue Lake and a huge Indian casino, then climbs over two summits before dropping to the Trinity River.

The dense second growth forests here give way to pasturelands that stretch all the way to the Eel River. The coastline consists of a very long sandy beach backed by dunes and the estuary of the Mad River.