Shelter Cove, California

Shelter Cove is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California, United States on California's Lost Coast. Lying where the King Range meets the Pacific Ocean, it is a principal population center in the Lost Coast region. A 9-hole golf course surrounds the one-runway Shelter Cove Airport at the center of Shelter Cove's commercial district. Utilities are provided by the Humboldt County Resort Improvement District #1.

Shelter Cove shares a ZIP code with the hamlet of Whitethorn, California, located to the southeast. Sinkyone Wilderness State Park is about 6 miles (10 km) south of Shelter Cove on the coast. There are also state parks such as Black Sands Beach, Mal Coombs Park, Seal Rock Picnic Area and Abalone Point. Much of the land around Shelter Cove belongs to the Kings Range National Conservation Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The nearest supermarket and other amenities not available in Shelter Cove are in the towns of Redway and Garberville in the U.S. 101 corridor, about twenty miles of winding county roads to the east.

The ZIP Code is 95589. The community is inside area code 707.

History

The area around Shelter Cove was originally home to Native Americans known as the Sinkyone people.

Because of the very steep terrain on the coastal areas surrounding Shelter Cove, the highway builders constructing State Route 1 (the "Pacific Coast Highway") decided it was too difficult to build the coastal highway along a long stretch of what is now the Lost Coast. As a result, the small fishing village of Shelter Cove remained very secluded from the rest of the populous state, despite being only 230 miles north of San Francisco, and is accessible by boat, via small mountain road, or by a small airfield.

As a result of its seclusion, the Shelter Cove are has become a popular spot for those seeking quiet vacation respite or retirement area. Popular activities in the area include fishing, whale watching, hiking, diving for abalone, surfing and other outdoor activities.

The Cape Mendocino Light, a lighthouse from Cape Mendocino, was moved to Mal Coombs Park in 1998.

Politics

In the state legislature Shelter Cove is located in the 2nd Senate District, represented by Democrat Pat Wiggins, and in the 1st Assembly District, represented by Democrat Patty Berg. Federally, Shelter Cove is located in California's 1st congressional district.

References

External links

* [http://www.sheltercove-ca.gov/ Humboldt County Resort Improvement District #1]
* [http://www.coastalconservancy.ca.gov/coast&ocean/archive/VISION.HTM Information on the Sinkyone peoples] , California Coastal Conservancy
* [http://www.blm.gov/ca/pa/wildlife/watchable/areas/shelter.html Shelter Cove/Lost Coast Wilderness] , Bureau of Land Management - US Dept. of the Interior.
* [http://www.sheltercove-lostcoast.com/ Lost Coast Connections at Shelter Cove]