Anniversary Flight to Shelter Cove

Cessna 172 N4870G

Shelter Cove is one of those destinations that is such a perfect fit for GA aircraft, it's almost unbelievable.  From my home in Sacramento, the drive time to Shelter Cove according to Google maps would be 4 hours and 53 minutes, my leisurely flight time from Sacramento was only 1.5 Cessna 172 hours, and that's including a decent to Fort Bragg for some photos before continuing on to Shelter Cove.  But not only is this a great destination for GA pilots because of the potential time savings, the entire town is small enough that you don't need to worry about a car or  taxi, everything is within walking distance.

In a previous post, I may have mentioned Shelter Cove as it's been a destination that I have already attempted without success.  The first time I attempted a flight to Shelter Cove I had planned on proposing to my then girlfriend, picturing either a bench by the scenic lighthouse, or somewhere on the beach as a perfect place to get down on one knee.  I took off with my girlfriend as eager co-pilot,  but encountered un-forecast cloud cover that quickly descended into a fog bank.  I ended up turning back and landing in Napa where I was still able to pull off a fairly romantic proposal by the Napa River Inn - with a "I Do!!!" from Chanel.

Well this September was our 1st anniversary and when we talked about what to do and where to go, it was Chanel's idea to re-try the Shelter Cove trip.  I was hesitant because I knew that the weather at Shelter Cove is extremely finicky and I'd hate for our 1st anniversary to be remembered as some sort of failure.  However, I have an amazing wife who assured me that if Shelter Cove was fogged in, we'd find somewhere else to land and would have a great time wherever that was.  (I am lucky to have a wife who understands GA flying and is totally on board!).

So, I give you pictures from our 1st anniversary, and 2nd attempt at a Shelter Cove trip:

There is parking at either end of the runway.  We parked at the north end which was only 150' away from our hotel.

Cessna 172 - At Shelter Cove Airport 0Q5

Beautiful black sand beaches:

Black Sand Beaches north of Shelter Cove

The view from our room was unbeatable.  I could spend days, just sitting on that balcony. This was our room at the Inn of the Lost Coast.  Can't wait to go back!

Inn of the Lost Coast

 We both had a sense, that this was quite possibly one of the quietest, most serene ocean towns we've ever been in.  Inn of the Lost Coast is the building on the right - also the hotel we stayed at:

Inn of the Lost Coast

Shelter Cove

Cape Mendocino Tea House

Shelter Cove Airport

There are essentially three main restaurants, a few delis, and there are maybe 5 hotels to choose from.  I don't remember seeing an actual gift shop, however some of the hotels and grocery stores sell Shelter Cove keep sakes, caps, and sweaters.  There is really very little to do in Shelter Cove - which is perfect.  This is where you go to read a long book, or simply soak in the crisp ocean air.  So here's why you go to Shelter Cove, you go because it's a getaway, you go because it's beautiful, because it's not over-run by tourists, you go because you're a pilot and this place was built for you.  And for my wife and I, we already have our second anniversary destination picked out.  It was a truly perfect getaway weekend! 

Before becoming a pilot, and during my flight training, I knew that GA pilots do a lot of local pattern flying to stay current, however I imagined that a much greater percentage of my flying would be longer distance destination flying.  For me so far, that has not been the case.  Almost all of my flights are local flights, either to take a friend on a quick scenic flight around our city, or just hopping up in the pattern to log the required landings.  Yet I still hold onto the notion that young low time pilots can still experience the benefits and pure joy of traveling by small airplane and am always looking forward to my next opportunity to make it happen, though roadblocks come from quite a few directions.

My main access to aircraft is through a flying club, a good one I might add, but even with an effective booking system and plenty of aircraft available, to find one airplane open for an entire weekend, you have to plan months in advance.  Once I find a weekend that both works for personal scheduling as well as for the club, as a VFR pilot, you can only hope and pray that the weather will hold up on that same weekend.  Unlike VFR pilots who own their aircraft who could potentially push back a trip by a day to wait for better weather, a pilot who is renting an airplane for a weekend has a strict window of opportunity and must have the plane back for other pilots to use after that window closes.  I don't want to sound like I'm complaining as I understand that flying is a huge privilege, however the challenges in making a cross country weekend trip like this Shelter Cove trip happen as a renting pilot just makes it all that much more rewarding when everything comes together.

This weekend in Shelter Cove was amazing because I got to spend it with an awesome girl, it was amazing because of the incredible views that Shelter Cove offers, and it was amazing because we flew there.  I've mentioned it before, but regardless of the destination, when you get there by small airplane, it feels more special, it feels like an adventure and something big.  Shelter Cove by car may have just been another stop on a long drive.  By air, this was almost by default a special and memorable experience. When I think about why I became a pilot, and what I always wanted to do with my license, this is what I imagine.  If you are a pilot, and live anywhere on the West Coast, you owe it to yourself plan a flight to stay a night in Shelter Cove - you'll be happy you did.

Note: I received a great comment from  Hans who had this to say:

Because of the dynamic changes in the local weather, aviators can now see the real-time sky conditions at Shelter Cove via a number of webcams. These cams were sponsored by the Lost Coast Aviators, the local EAA Chapter. The cam images are available during the daylight hours and can be viewed at northcoastaviation.com.

Thanks for that info, I didn't know about the webcams - that would certainly help during the pre-flight weather planning.