Commentary By Samuel Strait – Reporter at Large – July 1, 2022

I have passed by this small overgrown parking lot for years going into
Crescent City without much of a thought of stopping to check it out, but
with a guest in town and beach walking a regular pursuit since they
arrived, it was time to show that Del Norte County’s wonders are every
where.  The small lot leads to a 1.5 mile loop trail aptly named, the
Lake Earl Coastal Lagoon Trail. An easy stroll through a coastal forest,
sometime shrouded in fog, that borders along the landward side of Lake
Earl.  In many places the lush vegetation crowds the trail where in
others it opens to views of the wetlands surrounding the lake.  The buzz
of insects compete with the sounds of the many birds that inhabit the
terrain leading down to the lake and the sand dunes beyond.  While you
only get glimpses of the ocean, its surf can be heard faintly in the
background while traversing the loop near the lake.

I am told that the trail is accessible year round, but is likely muddy
and wet during the winter when the lake shore encroaches on the return
leg of the loop.   For us, it was a sunny day and the path was dry,
easily handled in under an hour.  While we encountered just a few others
in our sojourn, it did not appear to be heavily used; hence, it was
quiet and peaceful, a genuine pleasure to just be outside enjoying the
hike.  There are no sweeping vistas to grace the trail, nor stunning,
picturesque landscape to fascinate, merely the everyday experience of
what it is like to live in Del Norte County.

For the past several days, my guests and I have walked the County’s
Beaches, hiked several of the many coastal trails, and yet have not even
scratched the surface of what the County has to offer.  There have been
many places in my travels both here and abroad that can compare
favorably to what we have in this magical place I call home, but there
is nothing like seeing the City lit just before dark from the view point
up Crescent City Hill that does not call one to home with a smile on
one’s face.  It is such that we can say proudly, that this is truly a
magical place to live.