Cascade Head Hike

I've been dying to get out to some hikes on the Oregon Coast and yesterday I was finally able to!  I met my friend Caitlin at the lower trailhead. Note! There are multiple trailhead's to get to Cascade Head view points, but the lower trailhead is the one we took to allow for a longer hike (about 7 miles round trip). The upper trailhead comes in from a different side and is only a short mile long hike in.  Caitlin drove to the upper trail head originally and I was waiting for her at the lower trailhead!

We eventually got going and the beginning of the hike is a little weird and unclear of where you're going. But rest assured, follow the little hike posts! It follows the road out of Knight park, crosses the street and runs parallel to another road. At the top of this hill, it looks as if there is no more trail. Oddly on the left hand side of the street (opposite of where you come out) there is a little trail through some grass that leads down to a gravel road to the left. That's the one to follow! At the bottom of this hill, there will be a worn sign on the right hand side that says "Cascade Head Natural Area." Take this trail. The trail winds up and up and over little bridges until you finally emerge on the side of this mountainous hill. The views are immediately tremendous to the south. The Salmon River Estuary dominates an ocean view that extends to Lincoln City. There's a small oasis of trees is a draw, then the trail again hits the open slopes. The trail traverses along the ridge at about the 500 foot level, finally coming to a view north, down a cliff to the Pacific. From there, the trail switches back to begin climbing the slope. After several switchbacks, it levels out somewhat at the 1300 foot level at an upper viewpoint. Follow the narrow trails and you will see incredible views of the Oregon coastline. I will be completely honest, to get to the upper viewpoint is a total bitch. It was consistently uphill, narrow, uneven trails, and in the direct sunlight.  Super great for your calves and your butt though! Worth it for that alone!  You'll finally get to the top with some more great views in a nearly panoramic manner.

All in all, great hike! Thought I would be more sore today, but I am feeling great! Make sure to bring water and a snack, or get lunch in lincoln city afterward! Thats what we did!

• Date of hike: July 26th, 2014
• Distance: 7 miles roundtrip

• Elevation gain: 1300 feet

• Difficulty: Moderate (the last few hills were pretty difficult)
• Miles thus far: 125/200 miles this year

This is an arial view of how high we climbed! We started at the very bottom righthand side and climbed and weaved across to the left and up to the top right!

 Lower viewpoint

Caitlin and I at the lower viewpoint

There were lots of little side trails that opened up to views north of Cascade Head, like this one!

We finally made it to the upper viewpoint!

Realized on my drive home that I put sunscreen on everywhere except my chest... which resulted in this great burn, with a great white line across due to my backpack strap. Cute!

Incredible day, super hike, amazing views!