On this two night camping trip, we packed in a lot of adventure –including a stop at Munson Creek Falls, hiking an extremely muddy trail to the end of Cape Lookout, and climbing steep dunes at Cape Kiwanda.

Day 1

On the way to Cape Lookout, we stopped at Munson Creek Falls. I’ve wanted to see this waterfall for a long time and finally made it. The hike to the falls is short, only 1/4 mile, with Munson Creek cascading through mossy rocks right next to the trail.

At Cape Lookout, we setup camp and cooked dinner before heading to the beach for sunset. It was cold at night with a low of 35 degrees, so we sat by the campfire for a long time before going to bed.

In the middle of the night, I heard raccoons on the picnic table, then got up to discover I had forgotten to put a camp bin with dry foods up in the car. The rascals opened the bin and stole two of our breakfasts, leaving muddy paw prints on everything else. No photos due to it being so dark and also being so frustrated with myself. I know better! Lock up your food or they will find it.

Day 2

One of my favorite things about camping at the coast in the winter is getting to see sunrise without having to get up too early. There were very few clouds so the color wasn’t as strong as other times I’ve been here but it was still pretty.

After breakfast, we drove to the trailhead for the Cape Lookout hike. It’s been ten years since I did this hike, so I was looking forward to seeing it again. Signs at the trailhead warned about the muddy trail… and they weren’t kidding. The trail is eroded and has a lot of roots to work around too, so even though the hike is not long and doesn’t have much elevation gain, the mud and roots make it an obstacle course through the second half of the hike.

The first half of the trail isn’t bad at all…

Views to the south towards Cape Kiwanda

The trail gets close to the edge of the cape in a few places.

Views to the north towards Netarts Spit and the campground.

Beginning the muddy section, which lasts for about a mile.

We reached the end of the cape and took a long lunch break to bask in the warm sun with views.

It was hard to leave this beautiful spot, but it was time to head back to camp so back through the mud we went.

The views make up for the trail conditions…

Back at camp, we spent some time on the beach before dinner, then enjoyed another sunset and campfire.

View of Three Arch Rocks and the town of Oceanside

Day 3

One more sunrise before packing up camp…

After leaving Cape Lookout, we headed south to Cape Kiwanda to check out the sand dunes and have lunch in Pacific City. The sandstone formations and dunes here are unique and constantly changing. We followed all of the trails through this area and then climbed up the highest dune for more views. It’s beautiful!

The Oregon Coast will always be one of my favorite places… looking forward to the next camping trip here!