Lost Coast BDR-X — Sep 1–5, 2026

Lost Coast BDR-X · two vans, one basecamp, the whole loop · route & GPX from BDR

517 mi

closed loop, five legs

63,230 ft

total climbing

riding days from one basecamp

87 mi

longest stretch without fuel

campgrounds on or near the route

3,832 ft

high point, mile 448

Closed figure-eight. It crosses itself at Rio Dell — loop mile 135.8 and loop mile 378.9, 0.15 mi apart, the route's only self-approach under 20 mi. Basecamp there and the 517-mile loop splits into two lobes that each return to the vans: one night out apiece.

North lobe — LCX3 up the Van Duzen and Yager country to Blue Lake, then LCX4 over the Bald Hills to the Redwood Coast and back down to Ferndale.

South lobe — LCX5 down the Eel and over the Mendocino ridges to Fort Bragg, then LCX1 up Usal Road to Shelter Cove and LCX2 back over the Lost Coast.

The map

White labels are the basecamp candidates; each popup carries a Google Maps pin and directions from the Bay Area and from Bend.

Where to leave the vans

All three sit near the crossing.

Riverwalk RV Park

RV park · full hookups · 2189 Riverwalk Dr, Fortuna · (707) 725-3359

Ex-KOA on the Eel just off 101 — pull-throughs long enough for a van plus trailer, laundry, showers, pool, weekly rates.
Roughly half the sites are long-term residents, so the place is staffed and occupied while you're out riding.
Closest thing to the true figure-eight crossing: the route passes within ~2 mi on both halves of the loop.

Map Drive from SF Drive from Bend Website

Humboldt County Fairgrounds

Fairgrounds RV + tent camping · 1250 5th St, Ferndale

Up to ~100 sites; dry camping ~$20 with showers, 30A ~$35, 50A ~$45. Lots of open ground for trailers.
Sits directly on the route (loop mile 365) and you can walk into Victorian Ferndale for food, beer and a hardware store.
Ferndale is 14 mi off the crossing, so both lobes gain a short transit — but LCX4 ends and LCX5 starts at your tent.

Map Drive from SF Drive from Bend Camping info

Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP

State park · 28 riverside sites · 16949 Hwy 36, Carlotta

Old-growth on the Van Duzen with showers — much the prettiest option, and it's a BDR waypoint on LCX3 itself.
Small and tight: ~24 ft rig limit (largest sites ~30 ft), so a van plus a bike trailer needs a careful site pick.
17 mi east of 101 on Hwy 36 — no town services, and the Labor Day run-up fills it. Reserve on ReserveCalifornia.

Map Drive from SF Drive from Bend ReserveCalifornia Park page

Both loop passes are given because the route is a figure-eight: a basecamp near the crossing is close to the line twice.
Candidate	Pass 1 (loop mi)	Pass 2 (loop mi)	Drive from SF	Drive from Bend	Link
Riverwalk RV Park	371 (1.9 mi off)	141 (2.6 mi off)	~250 mi / 4h30	~374 mi / 7h20	map
Humboldt County Fairgrounds	365 (0.2 mi off)	121 (5.4 mi off)	~260 mi / 4h45	~385 mi / 7h35	map
Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP	157 (2.1 mi off)	391 (4.4 mi off)	~250 mi / 4h45	~390 mi / 7h50	map

Day by day

Drive in Mon Aug 31, ride Tue–Fri, out Sat Sep 5. South lobe first, north lobe second; both nights out fall midweek.

Mon Aug 31

Drive in

SF Bay ~250 mi / 4h30 up 101. Bend ~374 mi / 7h20 via 97 → 5 → 299, or 199 through Grants Pass. Unload, fuel bikes, set camp.

Tue Sep 1

South lobe 1 — Ferndale → Fort Bragg (LCX5)

147 mi · loop 380→517 + 10 transit · night: MacKerricher SP

fuel: Scotia 380 · Garberville 432 (+4.8) · New Harris General Store 439 · Leggett 454 (+6.7) · Laytonville 472 · Willits 486 (+10.1) · Fort Bragg 517 — longest dry stretch 52 mi

typical: high 80°F · low 54°F

day 1 GPX ↓

Scotia · Avenue of the Giants · seasonal bridge (mile 395) · Founders Grove · Richardson Grove · Bell Springs · Sherwood Rd. Loop high point 3,877 ft at mile 448.

Wed Sep 2

South lobe 2 — Fort Bragg → Rio Dell (LCX1 + LCX2)

142 mi · loop 0→136 + 6 transit · night: basecamp

fuel: Fort Bragg 0 · Shelter Cove 62 · Petrolia 99 · Rio Dell 136 — longest dry stretch 62 mi

typical: high 73°F · low 56°F

day 2 GPX ↓

Usal Rd · Sinkyone / Needle Rock spur · Shelter Cove · Kings Peak · Honeydew · Petrolia · Cape Mendocino · Bear River Ridge.

Thu Sep 3

North lobe 1 — Rio Dell → Blue Lake (LCX3)

95 mi · loop 136→223 + 8 transit · night: Blue Lake / Mad River

fuel: Rio Dell 136 · Blue Lake Casino 223 — longest dry stretch 87 mi

typical: high 75°F · low 52°F

day 3 GPX ↓

Grizzly Creek · Van Duzen · Yager Creek. Shortest day, and the only one with no fuel anywhere on it.

Fri Sep 4

North lobe 2 — Blue Lake → Ferndale (LCX4)

151 mi · loop 223→366 + 8 transit · night: basecamp

fuel: Blue Lake Casino 223 · Hoopa 258 (+3.6) · Orick 295 · Trinidad 317 · McKinleyville 326 · Ferndale 366 — longest dry stretch 40 mi

typical: high 69°F · low 53°F

day 4 GPX ↓

Hoopa · Bald Hills Rd · Schoolhouse Peak · Redwood Creek overlook · Orick · the lagoons · Sue-meg · Trinidad · Clam Beach · Samoa · Loleta.

Sat Sep 5

Spare day or drive out

Loop closed at 517 mi; vans never moved. Spare day covers a weather scrub or the EXT spurs (Kinsey Ridge 19 mi, Windy Point 16 mi, Shelter Cove loop 7 mi). Labor Day weekend starts today — 101 southbound loads up.

Variants. Swap the lobes to open with the 95-mile LCX3 day instead of the 147-mile LCX5 day. Or rebalance the north lobe by pushing day one to Sue-meg or Big Lagoon (loop mile 307–309): 179/67 instead of 95/151.

Fuel

Gaps between the BDR's fuel waypoints, riding the loop in order:

Longest stretches without fuel, riding the loop in BDR order.
Stretch	Gap (mi)	Starts at loop mi	Detour each end (mi)
Rio Dell → Blue Lake Casino	87.2	136	0.0 / 0.0
Fort Bragg → Shelter Cove	62.4	517	0.0 / 0.0
Scotia → Garberville	52.1	380	0.0 / 4.8
McKinleyville → Ferndale	40.0	326	0.0 / 0.0
Petrolia → Rio Dell	37.5	99	0.0 / 0.0
Hoopa → Orick	37.1	258	3.6 / 0.0
Shelter Cove → Petrolia	36.2	62	0.0 / 0.0
Blue Lake Casino → Hoopa	34.5	223	0.0 / 3.6

Rio Dell → Blue Lake Casino: 87 mi, no fuel — all of LCX3, on dirt. BDR flags the same leg. Binding constraint for tanks under 3 gal.

Campgrounds on the route

Flagged in the BDR waypoint file — the nights-out options once the vans are parked.

Campground	Loop mile	Detour	Notes
MacKerricher SP & CG	4	on route	Reservable (ReserveCalifornia); the BDR start/finish.	map
Westport-Union CG	19	on route	First-come bluff sites, no hookups — the fallback if MacKerricher is full.	map
Usal Beach & CG	35	on route	Primitive, first-come, 6 mi of dirt in. Bikes only, realistically — Usal Rd is closed in winter.	map
A W Way Park & CG	92	on route	30 grassy sites on the Mattole, first-come, coin showers, 7-night max.	map
Mattole River Beach & CG	102	3.9 mi off	BLM, primitive, 4 mi off route at the Lighthouse Rd end.	map
Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP & CG	157	2.1 mi off	28 sites, showers, ~24 ft rig limit. Also a basecamp candidate.	map
Gold Bluffs Beach & CG	293	5.8 mi off	Davison Rd is dirt and bans trailers — fine on a bike, not with a van.	map
Big Lagoon Beach & CG	307	on route	County park right on the route at mile 307.	map
Sue-meg SP & CG	309	on route	Reservable, showers, the nicest coastal night on the north lobe.	map
Clam Beach CG	322	on route	County, cheap, exposed and right next to 101.	map

Elevation

Sampled every half mile from the GPX; the coloured bar under the profile marks the five legs. The route spends most of its climbing in the ridge sections — LCX3/LCX4 inland and LCX5 over the Mendocino divide.

Climb is cumulative ascent from the GPX elevations with a 50 ft deadband, so it reads lower than a raw sum of every positive step.
Leg	Miles	Loop miles	≈ Climb (ft)
■ LCX1 - Fort Bragg to Shelter Cove	62.4	0–62	10,367
■ LCX2 - Shelter Cove to Rio Dell	73.6	62–136	9,825
■ LCX3 - Rio Dell to Blue Lake	87.2	136–223	12,208
■ LCX4 - Blue Lake to Ferndale	142.7	223–366	14,245
■ LCX5 - Ferndale to Fort Bragg	151.4	366–517	16,584

Nights and temperatures

Where you sleep, and what it does overnight there. Riding-day highs and lows are on the day cards above.

ERA5 daily normals for Aug 31 – Sep 5 across 2020–2024. "Coldest" is the lowest single night in those five windows — the number to pack a bag for.
Where	Role	Elev (ft)	Avg low	Coldest	Avg high	Wet days
Riverwalk RV Park	basecamp candidate	43	53	48	72	10%	map
Humboldt County Fairgrounds	basecamp candidate	33	52	45	66	13%	map
Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP	basecamp candidate	492	53	46	81	7%	map
MacKerricher SP & CG	night out — Tue Sep 1	66	53	49	67	3%	map
Blue Lake Casino - Food, Gas, Lodging	night out — Thu Sep 3	72	50	46	68	20%	map
Westport-Union CG	campground on route	52	56	52	72	3%	map
Usal Beach & CG	campground on route	102	56	52	73	0%	map
A W Way Park & CG	campground on route	246	58	52	75	7%	map
Mattole River Beach & CG	campground on route	16	58	52	73	7%	map
Gold Bluffs Beach & CG	campground on route	16	51	46	65	10%	map
Big Lagoon Beach & CG	campground on route	197	52	47	65	10%	map
Sue-meg SP & CG	campground on route	344	52	47	65	10%	map
Clam Beach CG	campground on route	20	51	46	65	17%	map

Full stop-by-stop breakdown — records, wind, rain per stop — in the companion report: early-September weather for the Lost Coast BDR-X.

Season and conditions

BDR calls the season mid-June to mid-October. Riding days Sep 1–4 are Tue–Fri; Labor Day weekend starts Sat Sep 5, so both nights out land midweek — but book MacKerricher (Tue) on ReserveCalifornia anyway.
Usal Road closes for the winter and typically reopens around Memorial Day; Fort Bragg–Sherwood Road is usually shut November to May.
The seasonal bridge at loop mile 395 is open June 15 – Oct 31 only.
No dispersed camping on this route — established campgrounds only.
Deer are the stated number-one hazard, and much of the route crosses private easements: stay on the road.

Every waypoint, in loop order

All 75 BDR waypoints, linear-referenced onto the loop

Loop mi	Waypoint	Type	Off route (mi)
0.7	Glass Beach	point	0.2	map
3.7	MacKerricher SP & CG	campground	on route	map
16.0	Westport - Food & Lodging	food	on route	map
19.3	Westport-Union CG	campground	on route	map
34.7	Usal Beach & CG	campground	on route	map
36.5	Drive-Thru Tree	point	6.4	map
50.3	Needle Rock Visitor Center	point	0.8	map
50.3	Rock Arch Viewpoint	viewpoint	0.9	map
62.4	Black Sands Beach	point	1.6	map
62.4	Cape Mendocino Lighthouse	point	1.3	map
62.4	Little Black Sands Beach	point	1.4	map
62.4	Seal Rock	point	1.4	map
62.4	Shelter Cove Beach	point	1.1	map
62.4	Shelter Cove - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	on route	map
69.7	Saddle Mtn Viewpoint	viewpoint	0.3	map
84.0	Honeydew Store	food	on route	map
86.1	Kinsey Ridge Viewpoint	viewpoint	4.1	map
92.1	A W Way Park & CG	campground	on route	map
97.6	Windy Point Knoll	viewpoint	5.4	map
98.6	Petrolia - Food & Gas	fuel / food	on route	map
98.6	Petrolia Oil Plaque	point	on route	map
102.2	Mattole River Beach & CG	campground	3.9	map
108.5	Steamboat Rock Viewpoint	viewpoint	on route	map
119.8	Guthrie Creek Trail	point	3.8	map
120.2	Fleener Creek Viewpoint	viewpoint	4.6	map
125.6	Bear River Ridge Tree Canopy	point	on route	map
136.1	Rio Dell - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	on route	map
156.8	Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP & CG	campground	2.1	map
223.2	Blue Lake Casino - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	on route	map
235.2	Bald Mtn Couch	point	on route	map
257.8	Hoopa - Food & Gas	fuel / food	3.6	map
275.6	Schoolhouse Peak Lookout	viewpoint	0.3	map
276.2	Lyons Ranch Trailhead	point	on route	map
281.7	Dolason Prairie Picnic Area	point	on route	map
286.4	Redwood Creek Overlook	point	on route	map
292.9	Gold Bluffs Beach & CG	campground	5.8	map
294.9	Orick - Food & Gas	fuel / food	on route	map
295.4	Orick Beach	point	0.6	map
298.2	Stone Lagoon Beach Access	point	0.3	map
300.2	Stone Lagoon Visitor Center	point	on route	map
301.1	Dry Lagoon Beach Access	point	on route	map
307.1	Big Lagoon Beach & CG	campground	on route	map
309.4	Sue-meg SP & CG	campground	on route	map
315.8	Trinidad State Beach	point	on route	map
316.5	Trinidad - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	on route	map
318.6	Tepona Point Viewpoint	viewpoint	on route	map
318.9	Houda Point Beach	point	on route	map
319.6	Moonstone Beach	point	on route	map
321.5	Clam Beach Park & Beach	point	0.2	map
322.1	Clam Beach CG	campground	on route	map
326.0	McKinleyville - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	on route	map
326.9	Mad River Park & Beach	point	1.7	map
333.7	Water Buffalo Ranch	point	0.2	map
337.7	Samoa Cookhouse & Museum	point	0.5	map
346.0	South Jetty	point	1.7	map
355.1	Table Bluff Beach	point	1.3	map
356.5	Crab Park	point	3.1	map
359.1	Loleta - Food	point	on route	map
361.5	Historic Fernbridge	point	on route	map
366.0	Ferndale - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	on route	map
366.1	Centerville Beach	point	4.4	map
379.9	Scotia - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	on route	map
395.1	Seasonal Bridge (open June 15 to Oct 31)	seasonal	on route	map
397.7	Immortal Tree	point	on route	map
399.2	Eternal Tree House	point	on route	map
403.7	Founders Grove	point	on route	map
410.1	McCann Eel River Access	point	on route	map
415.4	Richardson Creative Exhibit	point	on route	map
432.0	Garberville - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	4.8	map
439.0	New Harris General Store - Food & Gas	fuel / food	on route	map
454.1	Leggett - Food & Gas	fuel / food	6.7	map
455.8	Honor Farm Stand	point	on route	map
472.4	Laytonville - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	on route	map
486.0	Willits - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	10.1	map
517.3	Fort Bragg - Food, Gas, Lodging	fuel / food	on route	map

The per-day GPX files linked above are cut from BDR's own published track and carry that day's fuel, camp and viewpoint waypoints — they're a convenience slice, not a substitute for the full route file. Download the original from ridebdr.com and support them if you ride it.

Distances are great-circle sums along the GPX track, so they run a touch short of odometer miles. Waypoint loop miles are the nearest approach of the waypoint to the route line; "off route" is that distance, not the length of the spur road in. Generated from BDRX-LostCoastCA-Dec2025.gpx on 2026-08-16.