Rick McCharles sent me an e-mail this morning looking for best California hikes, mostly multi-day, but with a major limiting factor: they need to be outside the Sierra.

First one that came to mind was the Lost Coast Trail. The GORP intro:

California’s Lost Coast certainly qualifies as a dramatic landscape. It stretches roughly 80 miles along a rugged, lightly traveled coast, backed by a dozen peaks rising more than 2000 feet, crowned by the 4,087-foot hulk of Kings Peak. Two dozen year-round streams cascade down deep, steep-walled canyons in a landscape so rugged the highway builders just shook their heads and went elsewhere. Of the four roads that reach this wild coast, two are one-lane dirt and all are twisting and steep. Yes, dramatic fits, as does remote.

For those who don’t get enough sand in their toes on the Lost Coast, there’s the 1200-mile California Coastal Trail. It’s possible to hike the whole thing, as this 2003 trek diary attests.

So, the coast walks are the most obvious. Any other suggestions?