# Shelter Cove, California

Shelter Cove is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California. It lies at an elevation of 138 feet (42 m). Shelter Cove is on California's Lost Coast where the King Range meets the Pacific Ocean. A nine-hole golf course surrounds the one-runway Shelter Cove Airport at the center of Shelter Cove's commercial district. Utilities are provided by the Humboldt County Resort Improvement District #1 and boating access to the sea is managed by the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation & Conservation District. The population was 803 at the 2020 census.
Shelter Cove shares a ZIP code (95589) with the hamlet of Whitethorn, California, located to the southeast. The community is inside telephone area code 707. Sinkyone Wilderness State Park is about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Shelter Cove on the coast. There are also parks such as Black Sands Beach, Mal Coombs Park, Seal Rock Picnic Area and Abalone Point. Much of the land around Shelter Cove is in the King Range National Conservation Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Cove amenities include hiking trails, deli, coffee shop, restaurants, multiple inns, a general store, and gift shops. Other amenities in Shelter Cove include a small aircraft airstrip, a boat launch, and recreational vehicle parking. Some services not available in Shelter Cove are in the towns of Redway and Garberville on the U.S. 101 corridor, about 20 miles (32 km) of winding county road to the east.

## History

The area around Shelter Cove was originally home to Native Americans known as the Sinkyone people.
Near Shelter Cove on July 21, 1907, the coastal passenger steamer Columbia collided with the steam schooner San Pedro amidst dense fog. The Columbia subsequently sank, killing 88 people. Although badly damaged, San Pedro stayed afloat and helped to rescue Columbia's survivors.
Because of the very steep terrain on the coastal areas surrounding Shelter Cove, the highway builders constructing State Route 1 (the "Shoreline Highway") decided it was too difficult to build the coastal highway along a long stretch of what is now known as the Lost Coast. As a result, the small fishing village of Shelter Cove remained secluded from the rest of the state, despite being only 230 miles (370 km) north of San Francisco, and is accessible by boat, by paved mountain road, or by the small Shelter Cove Airport.
As a result of its seclusion, the Shelter Cove area has become popular for those seeking a quiet vacation respite or retirement area. Popular activities include fishing, whale watching, hiking, diving for abalone, and other outdoor activities.
The Cape Mendocino Light, a lighthouse from Cape Mendocino, was moved by helicopter to Mal Coombs Park in 1998. A post office operated at Shelter Cove from 1892 to 1933, moving in 1898.

## Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Shelter Cove had a population of 693. The population density was 118.9 inhabitants per square mile (45.9/km$^2$). The racial makeup of Shelter Cove was 630 (90.9%) White, 3 (0.4%) African American, 5 (0.7%) Native American, 7 (1.0%) Asian, 1 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 13 (1.9%) from other races, and 34 (4.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 47 persons (6.8%).
The Census reported that 693 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 348 households, out of which 76 (21.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 127 (36.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 28 (8.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 26 (7.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 47 (13.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 3 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 132 households (37.9%) were made up of individuals, and 32 (9.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99. There were 181 families (52.0% of all households); the average family size was 2.48.
The population was spread out, with 118 people (17.0%) under the age of 18, 25 people (3.6%) aged 18 to 24, 214 people (30.9%) aged 25 to 44, 234 people (33.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 102 people (14.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.1 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.6 males.
There were 631 housing units at an average density of 108.2 per square mile (41.8/km$^2$), of which 348 were occupied, of which 248 (71.3%) were owner-occupied, and 100 (28.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 10.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 13.8%. 499 people (72.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 194 people (28.0%) lived in rental housing units.

## Politics

In the state legislature, Shelter Cove is in the 2nd Senate District, represented by Democrat Mike McGuire, and the 2nd Assembly District, represented by Democrat Chris Rogers.
Federally, Shelter Cove is in California's 2nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Jared Huffman.

## Climate

Shelter Cove has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb) typical of the North Coast, that is characterized by warm (but not hot), dry summers, and mild to chilly, rainy winters. Shelter Cove's climate is moderated by the proximity to the Pacific Ocean, with small temperature variations on average throughout the year, which result in mild year-round temperatures, although some winter months can get cool at times. Average high temperatures range from 58 °F (14 °C) in January to 70 °F (21 °C) in September. Shelter Cove on average has wet winters and dry summers, also representative of the region. Temperatures above 32 °C (90 °F) are rare, happening on average 1–2 times per season, but temperatures approaching 34 °C (93 °F) or above have been measured over such a wide time period as from April to October. For being a coastal community north of the San Francisco Bay Area, Shelter Cove has mild winter temperatures and warm summers.
Climate data for Shelter Cove :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 74 (23) | 83 (28) | 76 (24) | 83 (28) | 88 (31) | 96 (36) | 88 (31) | 85 (29) | 90 (32) | 86 (30) | 83 (28) | 78 (26) | 96 (36) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 57.7 (14.3) | 58.0 (14.4) | 59.6 (15.3) | 61.2 (16.2) | 65.3 (18.5) | 68.6 (20.3) | 69.4 (20.8) | 69.0 (20.6) | 69.8 (21.0) | 67.2 (19.6) | 61.4 (16.3) | 58.2 (14.6) | 63.8 (17.7) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 51.7 (10.9) | 51.8 (11.0) | 52.6 (11.4) | 53.7 (12.1) | 57.1 (13.9) | 60.0 (15.6) | 61.1 (16.2) | 61.0 (16.1) | 61.3 (16.3) | 59.3 (15.2) | 54.8 (12.7) | 52.3 (11.3) | 56.4 (13.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 45.6 (7.6) | 45.6 (7.6) | 45.7 (7.6) | 46.1 (7.8) | 48.9 (9.4) | 51.5 (10.8) | 52.8 (11.6) | 53.0 (11.7) | 52.9 (11.6) | 51.4 (10.8) | 48.3 (9.1) | 46.5 (8.1) | 49.0 (9.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 31 (−1) | 34 (1) | 31 (−1) | 38 (3) | 42 (6) | 44 (7) | 36 (2) | 43 (6) | 42 (6) | 40 (4) | 35 (2) | 27 (−3) | 27 (−3) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 9.9 (250) | 9.8 (250) | 8.2 (210) | 4.2 (110) | 2.9 (74) | 1.2 (30) | 0.2 (5.1) | 0.6 (15) | 1.2 (30) | 3.8 (97) | 8.4 (210) | 11.4 (290) | 61.8 (1,571.1) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0 (0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.1 (0.25) |
| Average precipitation days | 14 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 96 |
| Average snowy days | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 156.5 | 152.4 | 201.2 | 271.0 | 322.5 | 339.6 | 367.4 | 365.7 | 312.2 | 206.1 | 178.1 | 149.2 | 3,021.9 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 5.1 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 9.0 | 10.4 | 11.3 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 10.4 | 6.7 | 5.9 | 4.8 | 8.3 |
| Mean daily daylight hours | 10.2 | 11.2 | 12.5 | 13.8 | 14.9 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.2 | 12.9 | 11.6 | 10.4 | 9.9 | 12.7 |
| Average ultraviolet index | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
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