Hiking the Oregon Coast Trail -- Getting to 300 miles the hard way

1 July 2020

With summer here, we headed to the coast with Katie for a planned hike along the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT).  The key word in that sentence is "planned".  Things don't always work out as planned, even when hiking.

Time to hike some of the Oregon Coast Trail

Our original plan was to hike from the Whaleshead Beach Day Use Area south to the Lone Ranch Beach Day Use Area and back - a nice 10.4 mile hike along the coast.  After parking at the upper trailhead at Whaleshead Beach, we hiked the OCT connector trail down to the day use area.  Since no one has been maintaining the OCT, at least half of this short hike was in grasses and bushes up to our chest - couldn't even see Katie half the time.  We did emerge from the jungle at the day use area but that should have been a warning sign to us of things to come.

View of Whaleshead Beach - Whaleshead rock is to the right

The next 1.2 miles of the OCT is a hike along the Whaleshead Beach which today was very windy even at 10:00 am.  It was still very beautiful and we enjoyed the sound and sight of the ocean.  After about 1.2 miles the beach comes to an end due to rocks and the OCT heads uphill to the ridges above the beach.  However, that portion of the trail had been wiped out by rains or a landslide.  There was an improvised faint trail heading up (and we do mean up) so we attempted this faint trail but it became a very dangerous situation for man, woman and dog. Rather than risk body and limb, we slowly decended back to the safety of the beach.

The OCT trail is just right of center as it heads up the ridge - very steep

Memorial at the House Rock Viewpoint

House Rock - actually looks more like a house from the beach area.

Ok, so part 1 of our hiking plan failed.  We hiked back along the windy beach (now hiking into the wind)  and back to our car (not along the connector trail) via a gravel road.  We then drove south to the House Rock Viewpoint and decided to hike the OCT south from there to Lone Ranch Beach.   This worked for about a mile when the unmaintained and faint trail pretty much disappeared.  We could have scouted around and maybe picked up the trail, but we didn't want to become the 6 o'clock news "missing hiker" story, so we once again turned around and found our way back to the viewpoint and car.  So part 2 of our hiking plan failed.

View at Lone Ranch Beach

Coastal Daisy

More beautiful coastal flowers

Panorama of Lone Ranch Beach

So it was time for the final "safe" option of driving to Harris Beach State Park where we hiked the Sunset Point trail, through the campground, and along the connector trail to the day use area.  The ocean and beach were beautiful and we took time to sit on a few benches along the trail and just enjoy the sights and sounds of Oregon's beautiful coast.

Glenn and Katie enjoing the view along the Sunset Point Trail

View from bench on Sunset Point Trail

View of South Beach at Harris Beach SP

Even though our day did not go as planned, we still enjoyed seeing the coast and got in 8 miles of hiking anyway which put us over the 300 mile mark for the year - the hard way.

Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol

Heceta Head Lighthouse Loop Trail

August 14, 2019.

On our last full day of camping at Carl G Washburne SP, we hiked a loop trail that begins at the campground.  Our hike began with the Valley Trail which wanders through the woods for almost 1.5 miles parallel to highway 101.  There are a couple of meadows which Elk are known to visit, but none were sighted on our hike.  Eventually the trail intersects and crosses Highway 101 which can make for an interesting game of Frogger.  Once across we headed south and the trail (part of the Oregon Coast Trail) became the Heceta Head Lighthouse Trail.  As with most coastal hikes in Oregon, our trail went up and down and had lots of switchbacks as it navigates the Oregon Coast terrain.  This section also had lots of deep ruts and plenty of wooden steps, mostly to help with erosion, that created an additional challenge.  In all there were about 100 steps up heading out to the lighthouse and thus 100 more steps down on the return trip.  Made working out on a StairMaster seem like a piece of cake.  We also ran into clouds/fog for the first time on our hikes which translated to raindrops when the wind would blow the trees.  After about 1.5 miles we arrived at the Heceta Head Lighthouse and took time to enjoy the view of lighthouse, Devil's Elbow rock, the coast,  and we walked to and visited the gift shop.  When we headed out we retraced our hike along the Heceta Head Lighthouse Trail but instead of returning on the Valley Trail, we made a left and took the short Hobbit Beach Trail down to the beach and then hiked along the beach till we reached the State Park beach access trail.  In all our loop was 7.6 miles and over our 4 night stay at Carl G Washburne SP we were able to hike just over 35 miles.  Now we'll have to go back to work to rest up.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Time for another hike!

Like most Oregon Coast Hikes there are uphills and downhills with plenty of ferns!

One of our ocean viewpoints without a view today

Heceta Head Lighthouse finally comes into view from the trail.

Heceta Head Lighthouse

A thistle still in bloom along the coast

View of Devil's Elbow from the lighthouse

View of return hike with clouds/fog along the Oregon Coast Trail

This log was here when we hiked this trail in 2010, just aged a little bit like us.

Last junction as we head down to Hobbit Beach and return to camp

804 Trail & Amanda's Trail

August 12, 2019

As the Oregon Coast Trail heads south into Yachats, it follows the path known as the 804 Trail leaving the sandy beach for a paved trail that wanders along the coast and then skirts it way through and around some neighborhoods and hotels.  On our first day camping at Carl G Washburne SP we drove up to Yachats and started at the south end of the 804 trail and hiked the entire trail to its end at the beach -  a 3.5  mile round trip.  Along the route are plenty of benches and tables for relaxing and taking in the views and the sound of ocean waves and sea birds is always in the air.  After enjoying this beautiful "warm up" hike, we drove to the south end of town and parked at a pullout to hike another section of the OCT.  We hiked along both sides of Highway 101 till eventually we arrived at the statue of Amanda, the namesake for this portion of the OCT known as Amanda's Trail.  From that point on most of the trail was up, up, up until 2.2 miles later we arrived at the Whispering Spruce Viewpoint parking area that is part of the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area.  We took in the amazing views during a much needed break before heading back down the trail and eventually to our car.  Since signs were posted that a mother bear and cubs had a den along the Amanda Trail, we kept an ever watchful eye out while hiking along this beautiful trail.  This hike was about 7 miles total and with a few other short hikes later in the day plus the 804 Trail, we finished with a daily total of 11.9 hiking miles - and this was only day one!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

The start of the 804 Trail from the south end of town

The 804 Trail literally follows the coast.

One of many coves along the 804 Trail

End of the 804 Trail and the beginning of 7 miles of walking beach!

Hiking along the Oregon Coast Trail

A "nature made" tunnel on the 804 Trail

Amanda statue at beginning of Amanda's Trail section of OCT

View southward of coast from Whispering Spruce Viewpoint in Cape Perpetua Scenic Area

Bullards Beach SP - Beach Hiking

July 16, 2019

It's been 18 years since we camped at Bullards Beach SP just north of Bandon.  Back in 2001 we stayed just 2 nights since we waited too late to get reservations, this time it was for 4 nights.  In 2001 the cheese factory was Bandon Cheese Co, now it is Face Rock Creamery.  In 2001 we had 2 young kids and no dog while camping, this time our grown daughter and our dog joined us. Having visited Bandon many times over the years, we of course made our way back to old favorites like Bandon Sweets N Treats & Bandon Bakery Co (even got Katie some baked dog treats), but we also visited new places like the Bandon Coffee Cafe, The Rolling Pin Bake & Brew, and the Bandon Brewing Co.  Notice a "food" theme?

Wide open beaches at Bullards Beach SP

Coquille Lighthouse

In between those food stops, we did a number of hikes to and along the beach area which is considered part of the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT).

Looking out along the jetty

Looking back at the lighthouse along the jetty

One hike involved following the lighthouse trail from the campground to a day use area, going over the sand dunes to the beach, and then hiking along the beach 1.5 miles to the jetty at the Coquille Lighthouse and back.  The wind was at our back hiking to the jetty which was fine, but the return 1.5 miles felt more like 5 miles as we heading into a very strong wind.  Katie though enjoyed her beach time.  Hiking in soft sand at the beach is a differnt kind of hike which we found out many times on this trip.

Downtown Bandon

Our yurt at Bullards Beach SP

Our beach hiking totalled about 7-8 miles in all and helped put us over the 300 mile mark for the year.  We did do another hike south of Bandon, but that will be another post.  One last note - while in Bandon we visited the Washed Ashore Project Art Museum.  Be sure to check out their website as this organization works to help clean up our oceans and beaches.  If you go to Bandon, be sure to stop and visit their free museum.  Very hands on and great for kids of all ages.

Our daughter being eaten by a plastic trash fish

A whale skeleton at the Washed Ashore Museum

Another plastic trash work of art in the museum

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Escape to the Coast!

August 16 & 17, 2018

Southern Oregon has been hit with numerous wildfires since mid-July.  It seems we are surrounded by fires and the Rogue Valley is a natural catch-all for the smoke.  As a result we have hiked very little and those hikes have been local and short due to the air quality.  So it is only natural that like other hike deprived hikers, we had to venture out a ways to get to some clean air for our "fix" of hiking.

Time for some hiking at the coast!

We packed up the car, Katie included, and drove to Gold Beach for a few days. We also managed to stop at Harris Beach SP in Brookings on the way to and from Gold Beach for some hiking.

Path from our lodging to the beach....

Beautiful ocean!

From our cabin at Ireland's Rustic Lodges in Gold Beach, we hiked out to and along the beach to Kissing Rock enjoying the beautiful and wide beach under clear blue skies.  Katie especially enjoys beach hikes and rolled in the sand and/or on rocks numerous times.  We also enjoy beach hikes but due to other people being on the beach, we refrained from rolling in the sand on our backs like Katie.

Kissing Rock

We also made a stop at the Cape Sebastian Viewpoint and hiked the Oregon Coast Trail in each direction from the parking lot.  It felt great to be among the trees and ferns with the wind blowing and to have views of the ocean and coastline.  The  hikes were not that long, but it felt great to get out and stretch our legs.

View of Oregon Coast along the OCT

OCT winding its way through the trees.

We also took time to just sit back and enjoy the sights, sounds and smell of the Oregon Coast.  It truly was a much needed break for us and we ended up hiking over 11 miles too!

Arch rock at North Myers Creek Beach

Hopefully the fires will subside in time for some Autumn hiking as there are lots of trails we really enjoy during that time of year.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Oregon Coast Trail: Whalehead Beach to Indian Sands

June 19, 2017

Since our recent camping trip was to Harris Beach State Park, we decided to do a couple of day hikes on the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) in the Samuel Boardman State Park area.

Our first hike began at the Whalehead Beach Picnic Area which is accessed via a short rough gravel road from Highway 101.  We later realized that there is a parking area immediately off the highway that also allows access to the OCT.  The picnic area though is a nice place to begin and end the hike as there are tables with an ocean view, lots of beach to enjoy, and a bathroom facility.

Oregon Coast Trail

 From the parking area we began hiking the OCT uphill surrounded by high shrubs and crossed the access road.  We met and briefly talked with a hiker who had begun hiking the entire OCT a few days earlier and was taking a morning break to make entries in her journal.

Tiger Lily

Sticky Monkey

The OCT headed up through forested hills and made us feel like we were hiking in the Redwoods.  Large trees and many ferns lined our path along with some wildflowers like Tiger Lilies and a new wildflower to us, Sticky Monkey as the locals call them.  The name alone makes this flower a favorite!  We crossed over various small creeks and runoffs, some with waterfalls, and at one point hiked a short segment with a creek right next to the trail.  We stayed on the trail but Katie hiked the creek.

People trail to the left, Katie trail to the right.

We finally reached the junction with the trail from the Indian Sand parking area and continuing on the OCT reached Indian Sands.  One moment you are in wooded forests and then suddenly you are out in the open with deep sand.  This area was created by the erosion of the sandstone cliffs by wind and rain.

One of the original OCT markers

Indian Sands

OCT continuing past Indian Sands

We continued on past Indian Sands for a short distance to see a couple of beautiful coves and could have continued to the Thomas Creek Bridge, but instead we turned around and came back to Indian Sands for a break and to do some sightseeing. The clouds had been around during our forested hike, but once we arrived at Indian Sands the blue skies appeared and we enjoyed the views of the beautiful Oregon Coast.

Sea Fig

Arch rock at south end of Indian Sands (you can hike out on it)

Artwork on the sandstone cliff area

Our return trip was along the same trail but now views of the coast were enjoyed since the clouds were gone.  Once back at Whalehead Beach, we hiked down to get some pictures of Whalehead Rock.  We had hoped to hike along the beach area too, but the wind was in full force and hiking while being pelted by sand did not sound appealing.

Whalehead rock and beach

Our entire hike with some roaming at Indian Sands was just under 6 miles.  If you park at the Indian Sands parking lot, the hike is only a mile at most.  Either way, if you get the chance, be sure to check out this beautiful and unique area of the Oregon Coast.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol