Big Lagoon County Park — Attraction in McKinleyville

The day use area of this facility is quite nice with a spectacular spit separating Big Lagoon from the ocean, but that being state park land. The campground however is failing. I've stayed here a number of times over the years and it's got that cool Humboldt funk, but has been progressively ill-kept over the years. There was a camp host present, but I never saw them.

Don't expect level or anywhere near consistently sized campsites here, but a few campsites by the lagoon are gorgeous with direct lagoon access if you bring your own boat. Two sites on the primary access road have limited hookups, but don't try bringing anything more than a ~20 foot length vehicle into the camping loop. The campground itself is far enough away from highway 101 that there is virtually no noise from the highway. My campsite had lots of micro litter and an abandoned shawl tossed into the adjacent bushes which looked like it had been there a long time. The campsite was absolutely filthy.

On this most recent visit, I was met by the stench of acrid urine meters away on approach to the should-be-condemned restroom. Having just arrived with a full bladder, I took a chance and went in, breath held, not knowing what I'd see. I beheld the hideous scene of poorly lit brown (?) walls and with dense cobwebs just above head height in the dank, unflushed stall I chose. My feet were slightly sticking to the floor. Dried stains of projectile liquids smattered the walls. I ran away. Although I camped there that night, I broke camp early to get away. Humboldt County Parks could learn a lot from other county park systems with similar budget and technical constraints who have done it right, like Curry County Oregon to the north.

Having been a campground maintenance worker for state parks, I was absolutely appalled at the condition of this campground. One basic tenant of campground maintenance is that if you don't keep a clean facility, people will pee and poop all over the place but not in the restroom. And that was seemingly the case here. I'd love to come back but Humboldt County Parks needs to up their game and not their price, for the value is definitely not there right now. Come on Humboldt County Parks! You can do better; grant money is available from the State of California. One should not risk disease when paying for an overnight campsite stay.

All that said, check out the day use...

It was sunny and warm at home in Arcata. A seemingly perfect day for a coast adventure. I was to discover it was also wild and windy. After a year of saying I would, I finally brought my paddleboard to Big Lagoon. The parking was easy (enter a bit south of the lagoon off 101). The paddleboard blow-up was easy. That was the last of easy, not because of the parking...it was so convenient. With no wind it would have been heaven. Trying to carry my blown up paddleboard feet to the shoreline in the wind felt like carrying it 100 miles rather than 100 feet. Once in the water, I fought the tide and the wind for a good 45 minutes and made it out of the launch cove and into the main body of water. It's beautiful. As I paddled hard into the oncoming waves, I imagined how serene and lovely it would be to be paddling on a calm, warm, sunny day. "I could go over there and check out that cove.""It would be so wonderful to explore the inlet there, the outlet there..." "Lounging on that beach would be nice." Alas, not today. I did beach once and ran over the mound of sand to say hi to the ocean. It was wild. The waves made it clear they would show no mercy, and I kept my distance. I found a big log to hide behind, soaking up a bit of warmth from the sand and getting a small respite from the pelting sand. In a burst I ran back to my paddleboard, laid down on it and let the wind and tide take me quickly, so much more quickly than my paddling out, back to the cove where my car waited. All on all, It was an adventure I didn't expect but thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to going back on a quiet warm day, but I have no regrets from my...

This is a nice park. It's surrounded by truly stunning state parks, which is why it only gets 4 stars, but it's still charming. The "big lagoon" is a 3 mile long freshwater lagoon perfect for kayaking or even swimming, and it's great for nature watching too (we watched an otter play and catch fish near the boat launch). This park also has ocean beach access, including access to 2 miles of Agate Beach stretching south to Patrick's Point State Park. Agate Beach is a gorgeous beach, and also a well known spot to hunt for agates as well as other interesting rocks like jade. The beach right near the lagoon is pretty wild, with big waves and shifting sands, but it mellows out as you head south. This county park has a day use fee ($5) separate from any fees you may have paid for state park use. There are clean restrooms and picnic tables near the parking area. There's room to park an RV. Dogs allowed on the beach I think, but the surf is rough so keep them on leash (there are signs warning you not to try to rescue pets swept out to sea). We went on a weekday and the park was...