One of the prettiest airport in California.
Planning
The terrain around Shelter Cove is pretty tough. To the north, there is a black sand beach for emergency landing if needed, but to the south, it’s mostly cliffs and dense forest for 40nm. Parachute might be of a consideration, I took a 182 with BRS here.
You can plan from coming from the mountain side instead but you’ll need to keep pretty high and it might not be possible due to cloud coverage. (On the day I went, the mountain was covered with cloud but the coastline was pretty clear.)
There’s no weather station on site, use these webcams before you go.
Fuel
No fuel at the airport, there’s Garberville (O16) and Little River (KLLR) nearby. It is possible to fly round-trirp from KPAO in a 182 filled to the tab (with 1+ hrs reserve) though (but it’ll dip into the yellow range right when you’re about to land and that can get a bit annoying as the caution chime will keep coming back as you bank.)
Parking
Plenty transient parking next to the taxiway marked with Ts. It has ropes.
Nearby Area
The airport is right at the center of the town. If you go north, there’s the black sand beach and there’s a restaurant right outside of the south exit of the airport. The airport is not secured and people (and dogs, bicycles) walk on the taxiway sometimes.