- Parking: Parking available along multiple points on the trail: Duncan's Landing, Wrights Beach, Shell Beach, and Goat Rock Beach
- Bathrooms: Bathrooms Available at Shell Beach and Goat Rock Beach
- Water: Didn't see any drinking fountains while there
- Food: Food available in town, Bodega Bay
- Fees: No parking fees. There are camping fees
- Gear: Food, water, and weather appropriate clothing
- Website: Kortum Trail Website
While many hiking trails will lead you to the beach, the Sonoma Coast State Park Kortum trail has unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean, beaches, and cliffs for almost the entire way. This is a great family trail as it is well maintained and almost completely flat for most of the way. This trail will give you access to the coast line, beautiful bluffs, and multiple beaches
Stretching from Wrights Beach in the South to Blind Beach in the North, the Kortum Trail is 4.7 miles roundtrip. Towards the end of July, this was a great hike, as I had the fog on one side and the coastal breeze on the other, making it very pleasant and refreshing. The trail goes from South-to-North or North-to-South, depending where you want to start, making navigation easy and intuitive. Parking is available at Wright's Beach, Shell Beach, Goat Rock, and Goat Rock Beach, giving you great flexibility as to how much or how little of the hike you'd like to do. For those who'd like a shorter hike, you can choose to park at Shell Beach or Goat Rock Beach. For those wanting to do the full hike, you can park at either end, Wright's Beach or Goat Rock Beach.
What I really liked about the Kortum trail is the fact that you can access it at different points, creating multiple ways you can enjoy the area.You can take a long hike, head to the beach, or set up a nice picnic. There was even a group who set up lawn chairs on the bluffs just to enjoy the views. This is one of my new favorite parks due to how versatile it is.
If you've never encountered the summer fog in Northern California then the Kortum trail is a great way to experience it. The fog has a beautiful way of changing the landscape, it's a curtain that creates a yearning to explore what lies hidden within it. At times, the fog can be so thick that it hides everyone around giving you a wonderful sense of privacy.