TRINIDAD, Calif. — As Jacob Reed paddles through the brackish waters of Stone Lagoon, he is reminded of his ancestors. The roadside state park sits along Highway 101 in Humboldt County, but long before the state started managing the land, it was Yurok Country. On the western edge of the lagoon was a village called Chah-pekw O’Ket-toh.
“That was a village out there probably up until the 1800s,” said Reed. When goldminers and early settlers arrived, they started taking over the land and pushed out more than 70 villages in the area.
“There were villages all up and down the coast, but when settlers came, they pushed everyone out to reservations,” said Reed.
For over 100 years Chah-pekw, as it was called for short, was destroyed. The land overhunted, the water overfished and when black top roads were laid in the 1920’s businesses claimed the land and built a diner, a motel, a gas station and turned Chah-pekw into a private playground for tourists.
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Then, in the 1980s, California State Parks claimed the land and called it Stone Lagoon State Park. For nearly 40 years, the Yurok had little say to what happened at the park. That is until an apology by California’s governor set in motion a change that’s never happened in the state park system.
“It’s called a genocide, that’s what it was,” said Governor Newsom to a group of Indigenous people. “I’m sorry on behalf of the state of California.”
In the summer of 2020, the Yurok were given joint authority by the state, making them the first tribe in park system to have full control over a visitor center and hire park staff.
Today, Yurok tribal members like Jacob Reed control the narrative and share with tourists the history of Chah-pekw O’Ket-toh in the new visitor center and on guided kayak tours across the lagoon.
“Until recently, state parks and the Yurok didn’t have a good relationship. Now, they are doing a pretty good job of working with the Yurok,” said Reed.
Chah-pekw O’Ket-toh Stone Lagoon State Park Visitor Center is open to the public. Visitors can hike the California Coastal Trail and paddle, swim and fish at the lagoons. Kayaks and paddleboards are for rent at the visitor center. Be sure to check out the museum inside.
MORE OLD SCHOOL GEMS ON THE BACKROAD: See one of California's last steam-powered sawmills in action.
