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| Hiking | 4.80 Miles |
1,300 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.80 Miles | 2 Hrs 15 Mns | | 2.13 mph |
| 1,300 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Belated post. Second day at Seaside. Once again, I was on a time crunch and needed to be back at the resort by 8am. I decided to drive a little further today and go out to Indian Beach and try to approach Tillamook Head from the south side. Got to the TH around 5am. Kind of annoying, but I discovered that Oregonians don’t believe that parks should open before 6 or even 7 am. There was a sign posted that stated that this park didn’t open until 7am. ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") In Arizona I’m usually finishing my hikes at that time. Luckily for me, it wasn’t gated off. I was still able to pay ($5) for a day pass. I placed it on my dash and hoped there wouldn’t be any repercussions. (After visiting a few other spots on our Oregon journey, I think my America the Beautiful card would have worked here as well). Over the years this beach has become somewhat famous. Three movies had scenes shot along her shoreline: Goonies, Point Break and Twilight. The park had several placards here (and also at Ecola Point, which was known for the movie Kindergarten Cop) recognizing its history. A portion of the Clatsop Loop is a part of the Oregon Coastal Trail that cuts across the parking lot and continues on towards Ecola Point. Due to my time crunch, I was just focused on the Clatsop Loop. The Clatsop Loop takes off from the northwest part of the parking lot. The trail is well signed with an info board and a decent map of the trail and the area. (There are also bathrooms nearby).
Got started on the trail shortly after 5am. The trail splits immediately; a wide gravel path to the east and a narrow single track to the west. There is a babbling stream that greets you for the start of your journey, but you quickly leave that behind. I opted for the wide path to start with. The finite details escape me, but it was a very steady climb for the first 1.3 miles with a dim, murky feeling because of the trees and the position of the hills to the sun. At 1.4 miles the trail had flattened out and reached a nexus. There are three trails that branch off from the path you came in on. Going straight will take you past the Hikers Camp and in about .30 miles to a coastal overlook and a view of the Tillamook Lighthouse, “Terrible Tilly”. Going right (north) would put you on the Tillamook Head Trail and in 5 miles get you to the town of Seaside. Making a left at this juncture (south) would put you on the back end of the Clatsop Loop Trail.
I started off by going straight. This took me past Hikers Camp, a cool encampment where 3 open-air cabins have been erected for hikers, hiking the Oregon Coastal Trail. There are no reservations for these cabins. First come, first serve. Continuing on, brings you to a cliff overlooking the Pacific with a decent view of the Tillamook Lighthouse. Honestly, I was expecting a better view. On the way back I paused at the “lookout/bunker” that was used during World War II. Almost missed it. It is on the south side of the trail surrounded by heavy growth. It looks to have been gated off, so only exterior views are available.
Returning to the nexus I then took the Tillamook Head Trail and hiked in to where I had turned around the day before. It was amazing how quickly the wide path that I had hiked for the first 1.4 miles reverted to a muddy, overgrown single track. This stretch wasn’t nearly as bad as the north side of the mountain, but there were still sections that were reminiscent of what I had experienced the day before. Surprised that I had to hike in about .7 miles from the nexus to reach the spot I had turned around at the day before. Really enjoyed this part of the hike. Words cannot capture the beauty.
Once I returned to the nexus, I then continued on the backend of the Clatsop Loop. This part of the loop was very much like the Tillamook Head Trail that I had just left. However, this section probably sees quite a bit more action than its northern brother, so it wasn't as overgrown, but it was still muddy in spots. It had fantastic interior views with greenery sprouting from every crevice. There were also some nice views of the ocean and the lighthouse, as well as a distinguished arch rock rising out of the ocean. These ocean views were just as good as the “lookout view” touted at the top of the trail. Following this trail brought me to a bridge that crossed the babbling stream that “greeted me” at the start of the trail.
Very nice hike. Checked all the boxes that I hoped to accomplish. No ticket for parking prematurely. Once again, I had the trail to myself. No wildlife and no other users encountered. Technology wise it was a rough day. Typically, I try to make audio recordings of hiking trails that I am unfamiliar with. For whatever reason my recording of this hike did not save so the stats and comments that I made are hazy at best. And then, to add salt to the wound, I forgot to turn off my Garmin after the hike, so I have some of my drive time saved with my hike. . The loop itself is about 2.8 miles. The lookout and bunker are about .6 miles roundtrip. And the hike into the interior to connect to my turn around point was about 1.4 miles long, which got me to the 4.8 miles for this hike. So my mileage and elevation are a best guess. |
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