Flock of VW’s on Their Way to Shasta Swing By the Lost Coast

Closeup of the lead buses.

Closeup of the lead buses. [Photo by Elijah Shipley]

Over 20 old VW’s and their riders wandered out the backroads of Humboldt County yesterday near to the Lost Coast on Paradise Ridge Road west of the Thorn Junction.

A line of VW's stretched around the corner yesterday on Paradise Ridge Road.

A line of VW’s stretched around the corner yesterday on Paradise Ridge Road. [Photo by Elijah Shipley]

Elijah Shipley, a local resident was startled to see such a large group of what used to be a standard vehicle in our area during the influx of the Back-to-the-landers in the Sixties and Seventies but has now almost disappeared. “I was driving past, saw them, and I turned around,” he said.

The vehicles looked like they had been modified to handle rougher roads, he explained. Some had winches.

“They looked like 50’s models with the split windows,” he noted.

He posted the photos he took on his Facebook timeline and a clue there sent us to Skinner Classics, a VW restoration shop out of the Sacramento area.

A spokesperson told us that their boss, Robert Skinner was on his way to Shasta with a group that goes there every year. This year they swung by Paradise Ridge for a jaunt out that remote rural road.

Skinner Classics Chocolate Tour VW at the beginning of their trip.

Skinner Classics Chocolate Tour VW at the beginning of their trip. [Photo used with permission from Skinner’s Classics]

We hope they come back through! What a sight…

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56 Comments
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Joe
Guest
Joe
5 years ago

Fuckin’ cool, man! More pics PLEASE.

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
5 years ago
Reply to  Joe

I found Elijah on facebook. The only pics posted there are the same 2 as in this story. 🙁
Other people MUST have taken pics.
HEY PEOPLE! IF YOU HAVE PICS OF THIS CONVOY, PLEASE POST ‘EM!

V dubber
Guest
V dubber
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

A group of Beatles is called a possi. But flock fits too. Sorry we missed them through the dew. That last pic looks like the wildcat. Thanks kym.

Dean Hubbard
Guest
Dean Hubbard
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Heading up The Wall at Cape Mendocino, farthest West land in the lower 48…

S
Guest
S
5 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

There is a facebook group for the Shasta Snow Trip, you can also find videos on Youtube.

Justin Graham
Guest
Justin Graham
5 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

Filling up at Renner.

stuber
Guest
stuber
5 years ago
Reply to  Joe

No thanks, I prefer the Rolls or Bentley for touring. Those buses are loud inside, pollute bad, are so slow on highway, and you are dead in a wreck.

DJ
Guest
DJ
5 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Yesterday in Hydesville.

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
5 years ago

A friend on facebook recently posted a pic of a very sweet old VW van. Now I see this! It must be a sign!! The 2nd coming of…….. What? The age of Aquarius? Big protests? The return to active activism? Thinking small? Self reliance? Making love in vehicles (where you can actually ‘lay’ down!) again? (If any of those vans are a-rockin’ don’t you go a-knockin’!) 😉
Awwwww. Makes me yearn for the days when my 1970 VW van was cherry and it ruled the (paved and dirt) roads!

Brat
Guest
Brat
5 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

Yes, Agree 100 %. I had 67 camper van with a bubble on top so you could stand up inside

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
5 years ago
Reply to  Brat

Yeah! Mine had a BIG sunroof that we could use for all kinds of mischief! lol.

Mobius Dancer
Guest
Mobius Dancer
5 years ago

Wheee!

Phineas Homestone
Guest
Phineas Homestone
5 years ago

There are some fun videos on You Tube of this group exploring the Northcoast in what seems to be a near annual gathering:

part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DA-HH0Z3LM

Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05mu9AT3fvQ

This same creator has several other similar videos for those interested.

Bozo
Guest
Bozo
5 years ago

Took a look at the videos.

Hmmm… caravan… going double wide… going on wrong side of the road… on blind corners.
Unwise. A head on collision would not be good for the vans. (Or the other car too.)

Well, I guess at least they are goin’… slow.

laurie jensen
Guest
laurie jensen
5 years ago

Way cool!!!

Brooke Armstrong
Guest
Brooke Armstrong
5 years ago

This is the Shasta Snow Trip (SST). Been going 15+ years. Every year, Super Bowl weekend. This year’s route is different than years past because so many roads on the usual routes burnt last year.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

Do they stop to watch the SB?

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

~hopefully not. I mean, whose t and a will flip outta clothing this year? Or, who is gonna lip sync a song?

Georgia Guide Stones.

Small Fry
Guest
Small Fry
5 years ago

Nice! Spent some time traveling in a VW! I have seen VW’s go when 4×4 have gotten stuck! Fun vehicles, and they are worth a lot now a-days! It’s nice to see a happy caravan of vw’s and not a carivan with chippers!

Marlo Skinner
Guest
5 years ago

Shasta Snow trip is amazing, I would be there with my Husband Robert Skinner and our Son Dillon Skinner if I wasnt recovering from surgery.
Check us out at skinnerclassics.com and on Instagram

Safe Travels my friends
Marlo Skinner 😍

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago

~i can hardly come to this thread. My ’67 VW van was a show-stopper. I’d go to a grocery store and come out with people wanting to just get in a sit for awhile. Had it 30 years. Bernie Bergman engine, lowered, powder-coated chrome(?), Alpine stereo, tinted windows – transported water beds, bee hives, soccer teams -and family of six plus two Japanese exchange students and Nipper – family dog. Those were the days. Sold it for $10,000 about 15 years ago.

Ivan B. Nobody
Guest
Ivan B. Nobody
5 years ago
Reply to  Central HumCo

I suppose you know the RCA dog was Knipper…yes?

Blackberry Amnesia
Guest
Blackberry Amnesia
5 years ago

Had a ’62 with the 27 windows, blueprinted 1400 and dash full of VDO gauges. extractor and centrifugal advance bosch distributer.

Most dangerous vehicle I ever drove, probably would do – 65! Whooooo!

No brakes to speak of, terrible steering and handling, so uncomfortable to drive!

Sold it, got an ’83 Camper with the waterbox, took one trip and dumped it for a Volvo Turbo Wagon…
What a relief!

Can’t believe folks still want these things, and if you want to experience air pollution, just follow one for a mile!

Yikes!

The 60’s was a long time ago, and I don’t need a refresher course!

Peace out, dog.

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago

~no i agree w/you –once i got a new truck w/power steering and power brakes, i didn’t know how i managed all those years.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

Love how they keep them original. Some serious patina going on there.

Billy Casomorphin
Guest
Billy Casomorphin
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

Patina of a bygone reich…

Blackberry Amnesia
Guest
Blackberry Amnesia
5 years ago

And when I was in High School, you could buy a new VW bug for $1700. Gas was 25 cents per gallon.
No teenager wanted to be caught dead in a VW, then. We all wanted a Mustang, a Roadrunner, a Camaro…

A fully restored bus, like the one I had, would cost more than $40,000 right now, and it’s still a piece of junk with no A/C and no brakes! Cracks me up to see surfers in an old camper, down in Pismo… Geezers in Arizona or out in Laughlin, hitting the road with the old lady. Americans have some funny things that they cling to, but I would rather run 85 across Nevada in my Acura, and stay in a Hotel any day.

John
Guest
John
5 years ago

$40,000 restored? Try $90,000-200,000+ depending on the quality of the restoration. The record auction price of a 1965 21 window deluxe bus is $302,000.

Lauren
Guest
Lauren
5 years ago

They just passed the lone star junction on Kneeland road, headed towards Eureka.

Sean
Guest
5 years ago

Got VW buses I like to get rid of 1970 and 1971 . Both not running in rough condition . $1000 each if you come get them . 707 496 0123 Sean text me for more info.

Y Knot?
Guest
Y Knot?
5 years ago

Damn….

Looks like an invasion to me!

I’ve been warning people of this stuff.

Buster
Guest
Buster
5 years ago
Reply to  Y Knot?

Is it too late to build a wall?

Ivan B. Nobody
Guest
Ivan B. Nobody
5 years ago

Ruby Valley Friday about noon.

Ivan B. Nobody
Guest
Ivan B. Nobody
5 years ago

Ruby Valley Friday about 12:30pm.

LostCoastEMP
Guest
LostCoastEMP
5 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

That dude in ruby valley has been parting with his VW van stash for awhile. Must have had 50 of those buses stashed in the blackberrys by his house. Sells 5 or so every so often.

guest
Guest
guest
5 years ago

If you not the lead van, the view never changes…

Dave Cormack
Guest
Dave Cormack
5 years ago

My 67 21 window, restored to nice Driver condition, sold at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, AZ in 2009 for $165,000.00..Of course, I had sold it 5 years prior for about 1/8th that amount…who knew?

Sleepy Alligator
Guest
Sleepy Alligator
5 years ago

I was wondering what was up with the parking lot full of VW buses at the Weitchpec store tonight. Now I know.

Clint Eastwood
Guest
Clint Eastwood
5 years ago

“Would it kill you to buy American?”

George
Guest
5 years ago

Ah, yes, the thrill of being blown into the ditch by every passing 18 wheeler, the comfort of knowing my kneecaps were the front bumper, the constant oil changes/engine changes…ah yes, the memories/nightmares still haunt.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  George

But it endears by the utter ease with which it can be repaired, how it goes on when others can not. That tends to be remembered fondly.

LostCoastEMP
Guest
LostCoastEMP
5 years ago
Reply to  George

There was a logging truck who would swerve at VWs back in the 80s. He would drive bricland/EB road. His CB handle was “hippy clipper”

Bald Eagle
Guest
Bald Eagle
5 years ago

That’s a lot of shag gen wagons

Rise of the Galactic Core
Guest
Rise of the Galactic Core
5 years ago

In the spirit of Westfalia North Coast ! Glad they didn’t get stuck that would have ruined all there fun . Westfalia Coast boyyyy! (and girls to .)

Rise of the Galactic Core
Guest
Rise of the Galactic Core
5 years ago

Skinner Classics is actually about 45min. south of Sacramento in Vacaville according to google maps and Kambi Haus is in Oak Park Sacramento witch I’ve been told to proceed with caution in this area because of gang and crime activities these people are obviously pretty chill but if you decide to take your VW bus there you might want to make sure your bus doesn’t back fire.

Billy Casomorphin
Guest
Billy Casomorphin
5 years ago

I have used Skinners Body Shop for collision repair. They do good work.

They have a yard full of old VW cars, and always have several that are being restored.

I have to remember to show them the pix on Instagram under #humboldt in which 5 vans are rusting while being overgrown by blackberries…

They buy the cars everywhere, fix them and sell them for major $$$.

I wouldn’t buy one, though. Already lived through that.

Rise of the Galactic Core
Guest
Rise of the Galactic Core
5 years ago

I heard Porche’s motors will fit in those VW busses.
Anyways I was wondering if they cruised on down to Shelter Cove afterwards or out to Patrolia on there way to Mt. Shasta it would be interesting to hear more about there Journey since they have such a big following or possi .

John
Guest
John
5 years ago

$40,000 restored? Try $90,000-200,000+ depending on the quality of the restoration. The record auction price of a 1965 21 window deluxe bus is $302,000.

Tom Summers
Guest
Tom Summers
5 years ago

We are have lots of fun. Way more fun than lame people.

Dan Sterner
Guest
Dan Sterner
5 years ago

I drove my bus out from Colorado just for this trip. Saw some beautiful country and had a great time with other VW enthusiasts. We’ll be back again next year.