You’ve probably been to the north Oregon coast. It’s a safe bet that you have gazed upon Haystack Rock, had ice cream at the Tillamook Creamery and have seen the Peter Iredale shipwreck up close. Cape Kiwanda is old news, isn’t it?
Those who have make a habit of traveling to the north coast can fall into a kind of rhythm, visiting the same places and doing the same things over and over again. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but before you pack up the car for another day at Cannon Beach, consider what it would look like to break away from the main attractions.
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Just in time for Oregon schools’ spring break, March 27 to 31, we’ve compiled a list of 10 of the most overlooked attractions on the north Oregon coast. Some are found just off the beach, but others are buried deep within the Coast Range forest, requiring a little more effort to see.
Exploring off the beaten path usually requires a little more leg work, but the reward is a fresh experience that might break you out of your routine and lead to a more memorable vacation. The beautiful waterfalls, big trees and beaches don’t hurt either.
For the curious explorer inside us all, here are 10 spots you might have missed:
Roosevelt elk gather in Jewell Meadows, a protected wildlife preserve in the Coast Range east of Seaside, where visitors can spy on the elk from a roadside viewpoint.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
1. JEWELL MEADOWS
One of several elk viewing areas in Oregon, the Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area is found in the Coast Range off Oregon 202, about 45 minutes east of Cannon Beach. Seeing elk requires good timing and a bit of luck. Your best bet is to show up between November and April, in the early morning or just before dusk. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which runs the wildlife preserve, offers elk feeding tours from December to February. Bring your binoculars and pack your patience.
Open 24 hours daily; 79878 Oregon 202, Seaside; 503-755-2264; ODFW parking permit required.
A massive western red cedar tree stands tall at the end of a hike in the Rockaway Beach Old Growth Cedar Preserve, found just off U.S. 101 on the north Oregon coast.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
2. ROCKAWAY BIG TREE
A short, accessible boardwalk hike leads to one of the biggest trees in Oregon, a western red cedar that measures 154 feet tall and 49 feet around. That giant, colloquially known as the Rockaway Big Tree, is found inside the Rockaway Beach Old Growth Cedar Preserve, a swampy patch of land conveniently located beside U.S. 101.
Open dawn to dusk, daily; off U.S. 101, south of milepost 51.
Klootchy Creek County Park, found between Seaside and Cannon Beach on the north Oregon coast, is home to a dead Sitka spruce that was once the largest tree in Oregon. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
3. BIG STUMP AT KLOOTCHY CREEK
While perhaps not as compelling as a live tree, the Sitka spruce stump at Klootchy Creek County Park was once the biggest tree in Oregon, measuring 200 feet tall with a 17-foot diameter and a circumference of 56 feet. Though a windstorm felled the tree in 2007, the stump is now an overlooked attraction off U.S. 26 just east of Cannon Beach. A quick walk from the parking lot leads to the might stump.
Open 24 hours, daily; located off U.S. 26 at milepost 2; 503-325-9306.
A boy fishes from a bridge over a pond along the Fort to Sea Trail, which runs 6.5 miles from Lewis and Clark National Historical Park to Sunset Beach on the north Oregon coast. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
4. FORT TO SEA TRAIL
Hiking through the trees to the beach is one of the joys of the Oregon coast, and nowhere is that adventure bigger than at the Fort to Sea Trail. Running 6.5 miles each way from the historic Fort Clatsop site to the Pacific Ocean at Sunset Beach, the lengthy trail leads through a quiet forest, past farmland, under U.S. 101, over a lake and finally hits the sand. The trail is meant to mimic the journey undertaken by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, though the landscape naturally looks a lot different than it did 200 years ago.
Open dawn to dusk, daily; endpoints at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park and Sunset Beach State Recreation Site; 503-861-2471; parking at the historical site is $10 or free with valid public lands pass, parking at Sunset Beach is free.
Canoes are stored on display at the Chachalu Museum and Cultural Center in the winter, and taken out on the water the rest of the year. The museum is designed to teach about the culture of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and to serve as an active center for the community.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
5. CHACHALU MUSEUM
The Chachalu Museum wasn’t designed for tourists, but the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, which built the museum for its tribal community, opens the doors to all who stop by. Located off Oregon 18 just east of Neskowin, the museum and cultural center eschews informational placards for immersive displays that take you into the local environment, as well as living exhibits like the working cedar canoes that are stored in the museum over winter.
Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 8720 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde; 503-879-2226.
A walkway passes through the open meadows of Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area in Grand Ronde. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
6. FORT YAMHILL
Located in the Grand Ronde Community, the Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area is the historical site of a fort built in 1856 to manage interactions between white settlers and the Indigenous peoples who were forcibly removed to a newly created reservation. Visitors won’t find many historical buildings (almost all are long gone), but an easy walk leads to sites where they once stood, with placards telling the history of the place.
Open dawn to dusk, daily; found off Oregon 22, just north of Oregon 18 in Grande Ronde.
Towering trees, massive ferns and rough-skinned newts populate the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve, a 1,040-acre community forest that protects part of the watershed in Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
7. ECOLA CREEK FOREST RESERVE
A small, 1,040-acre park tucked away in Cannon Beach, the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve offers a quieter excursion into nature, with a patch of old growth forest beside the charming Ecola Creek. In the rainy season, rough-skinned newts crawl across the muddy trails. Come summer, visitors can cool off in the shallows of the creek. Parking is extremely limited, so consider making the one mile walk from downtown Cannon Beach.
Open dawn to dusk, daily; found on Elk Creek Road, .4 miles east of U.S. 101.
Munson Creek Falls is a 319-foot waterfall found at a state park site in Oregon’s Coast Range.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
8. NORTH COAST RANGE WATERFALLS
Those who explore the depths of the north Coast Range will find all sorts of treasures to behold, including a series of spectacular waterfalls. Find Niagara Falls (no not that Niagara Falls) in the Siuslaw National Forest east of Pacific City. See towering Munson Creek Falls just off U.S. 101 south of Tillamook. The smaller Umbrella Falls, Fishhawk Falls and Youngs River Falls are all found between Astoria and Manzanita.
A misty winter morning at Lost Lake in the Clatsop State Forest, found in the north Oregon Coast Range. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
9. LITTLE LAKES OF CLATSOP STATE FOREST
Those in search of quieter natural landscapes can escape to a group of little lakes in the Clatsop State Forest. While some may be amenable to kayaking, others are so shallow they’re practically marshes, best seen on a peaceful hike through the forest. There are four small lakes in all, found off U.S. 26 east of Cannon Beach: Bloom Lake, Lost Lake, Soapstone Lake and Spruce Run Lake.
A calm ocean laps against the beach at Sitka Sedge State Natural Area on the Oregon coast, with Cape Kiwanda and Pacific City’s Haystack Rock in the distance.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
10. SITKA SEDGE
One of the newest and most fascinating state parks in Oregon, Sitka Sedge State Natural Area north of Pacific City offers visitors a beautiful variety of natural attractions: an expansive wetland filled with birds, a dense coastal forest, and a sprawling beach on the north side of Cape Kiwanda. It tends to be less crowded than the more popular beaches nearby, making it a good plan B for your beach day.
Open dawn to dusk, daily; found on Sandlake Road, 4.5 miles north of Pacific City; 800-551-6949.
— Jamie Hale
503-294-4077; jhale@oregonian.com; @HaleJamesB
