Port Orford Heads Loop Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
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- Start point: Port Orford Lifeboat Station Trailhead
- End point: Port Orford Lookout Tower Site
- Hike type: Loop with spurs
- Distance: 1.2 miles
- Elevation gain: 170 feet
- High point: 300 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes, for older kids
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
From 1934 to 1970, this 300-foot high headland hosted the dwellings and offices of a year-round lifeboat operation, one of nine on the Oregon coast. The self-righting lifeboats, housed in Nellie’s Cove, were reached by a long, narrow staircase, most of which remains although you are discouraged from using it. The boats were designed to go out in all kinds of weather to assist vessels in distress, rescue crews, and salvage cargo. From 1970 to 1976, the station was used by Oregon State University for marine research projects, after which it became part of the Oregon State Parks system. In addition to visiting the station itself, visitors can take advantage of a small network of trails to stroll through the Sitka spruce forest and out along the headlands, which offer spectacular views south and north and out to sea.
Check the map showing the state park’s trails, and then zigzag up the pole-railed path to the buildings of the former lifeboat station. To your right is an example of the 36’ 8” self-righting lifeboat itself. Walk straight towards the old barracks building, now a museum (opened in 2000). The museum offers displays on the lifeboat station’s history, including local shipwrecks. The station staff was increased exponentially during World War II. One of the crew's jobs was to rescue survivors of an American tanker that had been torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. The museum is open six days a week (not on Tuesdays) from April to October.
From the north side of the barracks building, take the path out past a sign designating the Cove Trail. Pass a fat spreading Sitka spruce dripping with leathery polypody ferns, and walk through a salal thicket to get a view of Nellie’s Cove. You can see the concrete breakwater that connects two of the three sea stacks and the pilings of the old boathouse, which burned down in the 1970s. Continue on the trail, where coast irises bloom in early summer and Douglas-fir, spruce, tanoak, and hazel form the canopy. You'll get a view south to Redfish Rocks and Humbug Mountain before walking through a tunnel of hazel and spruce. At the Port Orford Lookout Tower Site, only some concrete pads remain. The 37-foot tower provided a perch for spotters scanning the ocean for vessels in distress. Now, interpretive signs here tell about coastal geology and the Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve to the south.
Take the paved path leading uphill past silk tassel shrubs draped with honeysuckle. At a junction, go left to proceed through an open thicket of salal, thimbleberry, evergreen huckleberry, sea watch, and stunted shore pine. After making a left at the next junction, take the out-and-back Headland Trail. Be sure to keep an eye out for the park’s resident black-tailed deer, and scan the ocean for whale blows. As you descend the trail, you’ll get views north to Cape Blanco and rocks and stacks offshore, including pyramid-shaped Klooqueh Rock. Look for harbor seals hauled out on the flatter rocks. From the end of the trail, you’ll get more views north to Garrison Lake, the mouth of the Elk River, and the Cape Blanco Lighthouse.
Return up the Headland Trail, and go left at the junction. Wind up the slope through snow brush and salal before turning left to reach the parking area.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Port Orford Heads State Park and Lifeboat Station (Oregon State Parks)
- Green Trails Maps: Oregon Coast South #656SX
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Dogs on leash
- Open dawn to dusk
- Museum open April through October, Wednesday to Monday 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Picnic area, restrooms, interpretive signs
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Port Orford Heads Loop Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Port Orford Heads Loop Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- 120 Hikes on the Oregon Coast by Bonnie Henderson
- Day Hiking: Oregon Coast by Bonnie Henderson
- Best Hikes With Kids: Oregon by Bonnie Henderson & Zach Urness
- 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Oregon Coast & Coast Range by William L. Sullivan
- Out Our Back Door: Driving Tours and Day-Hikes in Oregon’s Coos Region by Tom Baake
- From Sea to Summit: The R.A.D. Guide to Hiking in Curry County, Oregon by the R.A.D. Outdoor Club
- Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
- Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
- Oregon State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide by Jan Bannan
- The Dog Lover’s Companion to Oregon by Val Mallinson
More Links
- Port Orford Heads State Park (Oregon State Parks)
- Port Orford Heads State Park Trails (Outdoor Project)
- Port Orford Heads State Park (The American Southwest)
- Port Orford Heads (Hiking Bandon)
- Port Orford Heads (Oregon Adventures)
- Port Orford State Parks (Enjoy Port Orford)
- Port Orford Lifeboat Station (The Oregon Encyclopedia)
- Port Orford Lifeboat Station (Cape Blanco Heritage Society)
- Port Orford Lifeboat Station (Enjoy Port Orford)
- Port Orford Lifeboat Station (Wild Spring.com)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)