The Sunset Bay campground provides access to several scenic miles of the Oregon Coast Trail, which winds its way along the shoreline from Sunset Bay all the way to Cape Arago.

Trip planning resources

Although the campground is quite nice – located in a protected forested area – the coastal scenery is the main attraction for camping at Sunset Bay. A short trail leads from the campground to a small bay with a sandy beach. Take the trails on the south side of the beach to scenic viewpoints with views of Cape Arago Lighthouse and rugged headlands with crashing waves.

• Learn more about Sunset Bay State Park campground

Hiking on the Oregon Coast Trail

We took the trail from the campground to Sunset Bay, a small beach that’s protected from ocean winds. From there, we continued to the Oregon Coast Trail. It’s not always easy to tell which trail to take since there are many side trails in this area, so we were using the GaiaGPS app to track our hike. Not wanting to miss any viewpoints, we followed every trail that led to the ocean views above rocky cliffs and headlands.

trail access at campground entrance

Sunset Bay beach

The coastal forest is also a highlight here, with sitka spruce and shore pines mixed in with ferns and heavy thickets of salal.

starting on the Oregon Coast Trail

a wall of ferns lining the trail

coastal rainforest beauty

coastal forest

sunrise at Sunset Bay

Cape Arago lighthouse

view of a hidden cove from the trail

The view of Cape Arago lighthouse would become a favorite feature on this trip… we returned to photograph it at sunset later the same day, and again at sunrise the last morning before we headed home.

We continued following trails that wound along the shoreline, capturing scenic vistas along the way. In the mid-afternoon, the sunlight was directly above us and created harsh light for photos, so we headed back to camp for an early dinner with a plan to come back to a few viewpoints at sunset.

After dinner at camp, we drove to a parking pullout and hiked to capture the scenery at Shore Acres at sunset.

the color and texture of this rocky shelf was different from everything else around

After hiking out in the dark, we returned to relax next to a campfire. It was much colder on the second night so it was nice to be able to stay up late (past 10:00!) and stay warm.

In the morning, we got up early to shoot photos of the Cape Arago lighthouse at sunrise, then continued to hike a few more trails that we hadn’t explored the day before, ending at Cape Arago.

Cape Arago