The Hobbit Trail would make JRR Tolkien proud. The trailhead is a subtle affair and easily found mainly due to the other cars parked at the trailhead.
Parking is available on both sides of the highway, but remember, it's hwy 101 and traffic can be heavy.
Because there is so much vehicle traffic as well as hikers coming and going, there are enough eyes there to make you feel okay about leaving your car there locked up.
The trail itself starts out fairly smooth with gentle ups and downs, but get a bit more aggressive as you continue. A walking stick of some sort really comes in handy on a few of the steps and turns.
As you progress towards the coast the forest starts to get thicker and darker like Mirkwood. The rays of diffuse sunlight scattered by drifting mists definitely lends a mystical element to the surroundings. Some of the trees are so twisted and gnarled that you might almost expect Treebeard or another Ent to come pacing past you. We did come across a gnome that was cleverly hidden by someone.
After about a mile the trail reaches the end where the last section gets a bit steeper with plenty of roots to avoid. This is a very well used trail and there are a lot of very friendly hikers going both directions.
The trail then opens onto a very large beautiful flat sandy beach with a cliff wall to your immediate south and a long flat sandy beach to the north.
We found our first sandfall! A waterfall but it was sand, not water. Sand from the hillside above the cliffs was just pouring and cascading over the rocky edge. I posted a brief video of one with this review.
All in all it was a good hike for a guy with a bum knee, anything worse than that should probably not try the whole trail. Mainly because a couple places had steps in and around roots that were probably around 1 to 2 foot steps.
If you do push on to the bottom, the beach is worth it. Lots of very friendly smiling people and an awful lot of very well behaved dogs. I think the magic in this is that it was all so clean.
The hike back out was easier than I had anticipated but there is no ADA assistance. read more