Native Californian Trails

Rim Trail

	Round-trip Distance: 4 miles.
	Location: Coastal Yurok summer encampments.
	Administration: Patrick's Point State Park.
	Map: Patrick's Point State Park.

An important area in their tradition, the Yurok know Patrick's Point as Sunmeg. Sunmeg is the domain of the last of the immortals, living in the guise of porpoises. Once human beings had populated the world, the porpoise/immortals came to live here.

A quarter of a mile off Palmer Point stands Cone Rock, where over 1,000 sea lion skulls were uncovered by archaeologists, each with a two-inch hole drilled through the top. As no other bones were found on Cone Rock, the archaeologists assumed that skulls were brought here as an offering to Sunmeg for successful sea lion hunting. Findings among early Arctic cultures, where similar bore holes in polar bear and walrus skulls remain from a ritual to sustain their hunt, seem to substantiate this theory.

Trailhead
To reach the trailhead, 5 miles north of Trinidad, exit Hwy. 101 at the Patrick's Point State Park Rd. Turn left at the stop sign and drive for 1 mile to the park entrance (fee required). Continue 0.25 mile to the Palmer Point trailhead.

On the Trail
The Rim Trail follows a Yurok route among the bluffs of Patrick's Point State Park. The Rim Trail is wheelchair-accessible from the Wedding Rock parking area south to Patrick's Point. The trail leads from Palmer Point to Agate Beach, with six spur trails accessing tidepools, gravel beaches, and scenic overlooks. From the parking area walk west to the interpretive panel explaining the sea-lion skulls at Cone Rock. A spur trail descends to the shore here. Following the edge of the parking area north for several hundred feet, the Rim Trail veers off into the thickly vegetated ravine below. After spanning two drainages, the trail skirts Abalone Campground at 0.5 mile. The seasonal Yurok village at Abalone Point sheltered and sustained people who had traveled here to hunt sea lion and other game, and to gather shellfish and berries, for hundreds of summers. Another spur trail accesses sites of early Yurok seasonal encampments along the beach. Please respect signs cautioning you of the area's archaeological fragility. Back on the Rim Trail, your route follows the bluffs through woods to access trails for Rocky Point at 0.75 mile, Patrick's Point at one mile, and Wedding Rock and Mussel Rock at 1.5 miles. From here, there are views through the woods north to Agate Beach, and beyond that, Big Lagoon. Discovered along Big Lagoon's shores was the village site of Oketo with its four small outlying communities. At two miles, the trail joins a road through the campground to reach the parking area at Agate Beach, where stairs descend the bluff to the beach. When you're ready, retrace your path to the trailhead.