Welcome to the King Range National Conservation Area
(Established by Congress October 21, 1970, Public Law 91-476)
A spectacular meeting of land and sea is certainly the dominant feature of King Range National Conservation Area (NCA). Mountains seem to thrust straight out of the surf; a precipitous rise rarely surpassed on the continental U.S. coastline. King Peak, the highest point at 4,088 feet, is only three miles from the ocean.
The King Range NCA covers 68,000 acres and extends along 35 miles of coastline between the mouth of the Mattole River and Sinkyone Wilderness State Park. Here the landscape was too rugged for highway building, forcing State Highway 1 and U.S. 101 inland. The remote region is known as California's Lost Coast, and is only accessed by a few back roads. The recreation opportunities here are as diverse as the landscape. The Douglas-fir peaks attract hikers, hunters, campers and mushroom collectors, while the coast beckons to surfers, anglers, beachcombers, and abalone divers to name a few.
Congress once again recognized the uniqueness of the King Range NCA by officially designating 42,585 acres as wilderness under the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act on October 17, 2006.
The King Range National Conservation Area is a component of the National Landscape Conservation System.
We hope you enjoy your visit!
Due to break-ins, DO NOT leave valuables in your vehicles overnight.
The King Range Wilderness and Rocks and Islands Wilderness Management Plan and associated environmental assessment (EA) are now available online.
>