Of the four lagoons claimed by Humboldt Lagoons State Park, only two would pass muster with any self-respecting dictionary. A lagoon is usually defined as a shallow body of brackish water separated from the ocean by a shoal, having a regular source of fresh water. Big Lagoon and Stone Lagoon (the latter being Chah-pekw O’ […]
Stone Lagoon
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Lagoon Challenge
It was a cotton cloak type of fog, reducing visibility to 30 or 40 feet. Donna and I swam this stretch in bathing suits, “skinning it,” without the protection of wetsuits. Ariana looked at us skeptically as she pulled her well-worn neoprene over her long limbs and we eyed each other warily from 10 feet […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Alone in the Fog
I could feel bubbles of panic on the edges of my mind but I forced myself to concentrate on my breaststroke. Arms parting, arms parting. Focus. I knew if I started worrying about hypothermia, exhaustion or the cramping in my right leg, panic would cause me to shake or flail. Focus. Focus. Ten years ago, […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Yurok Tribe to Run Stone Lagoon Visitor Center in Historic Agreement
The Yurok Tribe announced today that the Stone Lagoon Visitor Center will officially be operated by the Tribe beginning June 1 under a first-of-its-kind agreement with the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Called Chah-pekw O’ Ket’oh in the Yurok language, Stone Lagoon plays a critical role in the Tribe’s traditional culture, according to a […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
UPDATE: Man Killed in 101 Crash, Passenger Injured, Dog Unharmed
UPDATE: A man driving a Honda SUV at high speeds died today after the vehicle went off U.S. Highway 101 near Stone Lagoon, overturned and hit a tree. His passenger received minor injuries and a dog in the car was unharmed. The name of the man has not been released pending notification of next of […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Stolen Succulents Replanted at Stone Lagoon
More than 1,000 succulents pilfered for sale overseas in by what the California Department of Fish and Wildlife described as an “international conspiracy” were returned to nature on Tuesday by a team of volunteers who planted them along the bluffs at Stone Lagoon. Those plants were among some 2.300 taken from near Trinidad by a […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Over the Ridge
Twenty short years ago, a friend and I chanced upon the trail that leads from Dry Lagoon to Stone Lagoon but our exploration was quickly thwarted by an expanse of thick, black mud. That trail continued calling to me, and a few months ago, after our recent long drought, I had a notion the trail […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Stone Lagoon Revival
There used to be a sweet little campground at Stone Lagoon that you could boat to — the only one of its kind in Humboldt County, with six hideaway boat-in campsites across the water from the highway. Alas, in March 2011, the cash-strapped state park system closed it. Now a private tour operator, Kayak Zak’s, […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
By the Breach
Even from the car, skimming fast south on Highway 101 in late December as the dusk sky streaked orange, you could tell something was different about Stone Lagoon, shimmering there behind a flickering screen of trees. It was breached! The smooth, silvery oval surface had grown a narrow, turbulent funnel that cut through the […]