View north along the trail (cfm)

• Start point: Cape Lookout Day Use Trailhead
• End point: Cape Lookout
• Trail Log: Trail Log
• Hike Type: Out and Back
• Distance: 9.6 miles round trip
• Elevation gain: 2340 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Seasons: All
• Family Friendly: Yes (older kids)
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: No (North Trail); Yes (Cape Trail)

Hike Description

This great coastal headland hike with lots of ups and downs begins at the day use area for Cape Lookout State Park. Rise through lush Sitka Spruce and western hemlock forest to the Cape Lookout Trailhead and then head west along the Cape Trail above steep slopes to the cliff top viewpoint at the end of this jutting lava headland. Here, on a good day, you can view ocean life in abundance: gray whales in migration, sea lions, and pelagic birds. You may also do this hike as a split by beginning at the Cape Lookout Trailhead, the main advantage to this being that you will thus avoid the day use fee.

I park near the six new cabins and then walk back towards the beach and go left. There’s a map of the trail system and the Dick Winsor Memorial, in honor of a former park superintendent, gives details about Cape Lookout State Park. I look out over the beach. The tide is in and there are views to Cape Lookout and Sphinx Island. However, the camera refuses to cooperate on this cold morning. I follow the sign for the North Trail under groves of Sitka spruce. The trail is a gravel tread on a maintenance track that veers right to cross a creek over a footbridge. I continue on the maintenance track up through salal thickets to a junction, where the trail goes right. There’s a bear sign here.

I cross a small creek and drop slightly to a junction. A trail leads right to the beach, and I take this on the return trip. I head up to the left and switchback up to get a good view of Cape Lookout. I make three more switchbacks up, still struggling with the camera. The trail heads up under an alder arbor to a make a short, steep rise alongside a small creek before traversing along the steep slope to gives views north to Netarts Spit, Oceanside, and Three Arch Rocks. The woods are western hemlock, Sitka spruce, red alder, sword fern, deer fern, salal, and salmonberry. Leathery polypody festoons the spruce. This higher trail is a new route: the old route traversed lower down and gave good views of Sphinx Island. However, that slope is sliding into the ocean in places. I cross a couple of small creeks as the trail rises. At a junction with a spur that leads up to the road, I go right and down. Here I meet the first of many hikers during the day. The trail drops to a log bridge over Cape Creek. I head up and switchback three times. The trail makes a traverse under large Sitka spruce and switchbacks up in a salmonberry/sword fern thicket. The trail switchbacks again and reaches the parking lot off the Three Capes Scenic Route. There’s a big map sign here.

I go right on the Cape Trail. It drops to the junction with the South Trail. The path continues to drop gradually among lichen-draped Sitka spruce, salmonberry, salal, sword fern, evergreen huckleberry, and red huckleberry. There are views south to Sand Lake, Cape Kiwanda, Cascade Head and Cape Foulweather. I pass the memorial plaque to the airmen killed in the WWII B-17 crash. There are wood palettes placed in muddy sections of the trail. The trail keeps dropping. There are also short boardwalks. I make two short switchbacks down, and then walk along a boardwalk to a saddle. It’s especially muddy down here. The trail heads up and there’s a view north to Maxwell Point and Cape Meares. A peregrine falcon perches on a branch above the crashing surf. I head up a stepped boardwalk and then undulate along. From an opening, there are more great views to the south. There’s another boardwalk and the trail drops through salal/evergreen huckleberry thickets. I drop again on more boardwalks and then switchback up along the south side of the cape. The slopes drop almost vertically to the sea and are cloaked with hairy manzanita and kinnikinnick. Now the path drops gradually to the cabled-off viewpoint. I scan but there are no whales. A couple of sea lions lollygag about below on a calm sea. There’s a fisherman’s trail that leads steeply down to a rock bench at the base of the cape. Other hikers begin to show up and I head back to the South Trail.

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder

Regulations or Restrictions, etc.

• $5 state park day use fee

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Cape Lookout

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Cape Lookout

Guidebooks that cover this hike

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Contributors

• cfm (creator)