On this three day camping trip, we stayed at the Beachside campground near Yachats and explored the Cape Perpetua area.
At Beacon Rock State Park, several former logging roads have been gated and turned into trails for hikers and equestrians. Beacon Rock and Hamilton Mountain are the more popular destinations here, while Hardy Ridge is far less crowded.
Winters in the Pacific Northwest can be dreary, with endless days of rain. However, it can also be a great time to camp at the coast whenever there’s a break in the wet weather.
On this hike at the Salmon River Canyon, there was no rain but plenty of water, especially in all of the creek crossings. The rainforest here has a magical feeling every time I visit it.
Popular with mountain bikers, the Gales Creek trail follows Gales Creek through a coastal rainforest of Douglas fir and red alders, with a thick understory of ferns and oxalis.
Cape Disappointment is located at the southern end of the Washington Coast – where the Columbia River meets the ocean. I spent three days exploring the area and practicing landscape photography skills.
This after-Thanksgiving hike on the Wilson River Trail featured ferns in a mossy forest and views of the Oregon Coast Range mountains.
This section of the Wilson River Trail between the Jones Creek and the Footbridge trailheads provides an easy hike through coastal forest with several riverside access points.
This hike to Lookout Mountain in Badger Creek Wilderness features western larches displaying golden yellow fall color, multiple viewpoints along the Divide Trail ridge, and of course, the summit of Lookout Mountain.
© 2021 I Heart Pacific Northwest / Yulan Studio, Inc. All rights reserved.
