Revision as of 15:59, 27 May 2018

View from the overlook at the trailhead, Oregon Dunes (bobcat)

Tahkenitch Creek on the Oregon Dunes Loop (bobcat)

Boardwalk in the deflation zone, Oregon Dunes Loop (bobcat)

Sanderlings (Calidris alba) on the beach, Oregon Dunes (bobcat)

The two loops at Sutton Creek (not a GPS track) (bobcat) Courtesy: USFS/Caltopo

• Start point: Sutton Beach Trailhead
• End point: Sutton Creek North-Alder Dune Trail Junction
• Trail log:
• Hike Type: Two loops
• Distance: 4.3 miles
• Elevation gain: 165 feet
• High Point: 85 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Seasons: All year
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: No

Hike Description

The northernmost stretch of the Oregon Dunes, the largest area of sandunes on the North American continent, is just north of Florence. Here, Sutton Creek meanders through thickly vegetated older dunes before reaching a deflation zone and foredune area and then the Pacific Ocean. Two connected loops take you through this landscape dominated by shore pine and Sitka spruce, and you’re never far from Sutton Creek. The creek and nearby lake are named after Orrin Sutton, a homesteader in the area.

Take the paved trail to the right of the restrooms that leads out to the Holman Vista. You’ll hike through a thicket of salal, waxmyrtle, and silktassel under contorted, windswept Sitka spruce. The silktassel (Garrya elliptica) blooms here in winter displaying pendulous chains of flowers all around the parking area. Reach a viewing platform that looks over Sutton Creek to the oceanfront dunes. Looking north, there are seasonal lakes, the low profile of Cape Mountain, and Sea Lion Point (You should be able to make out the entrance building to the Sea Lion Caves). The platform is named after C.D. (Dave) Holman, editor and publisher of the ‘’Siuslaw News’’ and a tireless advocate for conservation of the Oregon Dunes.

Return to the parking area, and take the trail leading out from the northwest corner of the lot. Immediately, you’ll come to a junction. Going left takes you down to a ford of Sutton Creek and then out across the dunes to Baker Beach. To continue on the loop, keep right, and hike up a thickly vegetated dune playing host to gnarled Sitka spruce festooned with leathery polypody ferns. Hike through an understory of waxmyrtle, salal, evergreen huckleberry, and silktassel. At a break in the vegetation, get a view north to the deflation zone colonized by shore pines and a depression which becomes seasonal lake. A spur left leads to a view over Sutton Creek to a stand of alders. More rhododendrons, which bloom here in May, enter the mix as you switchback up another forested dune shaded by shore pines. A viewpoint offers an expanse of Sutton Creek from above. Drop to a footbridge and a junction closing the first short loop. Stay to the left and come to the Sutton Creek Loop-Sutton Creek North Trail Junction, and go left at a kiosk and over a footbridge spanning Sutton Creek.

The creek here is hemmed in by a thicket of escallonia, an imported species from Chile. Switchback up, drop a little, and switchback again under a canopy of shore pine. The path undulates and winds on ancient dunes before reaching a crest that has been colonized by invasive and spiny gorse as well as Scots broom. Skirt the edge of a more open dunescape, getting views north to Cape Mountain. Drop to the Sutton Creek North-Alder Dune Trail Junction, and keep right. The sandy track rises into the dunes again, reaching a trail junction at a swing dangling from a fallen Sitka spruce. Go right here to get frequent glimpses of Sutton Creek below. Pass a gnarled cedar at the site of an old bridge crossing, and hike above the creek with Douglas-firs now in the mix. At a junction, go right over a footbridge to reach the Sutton Campground.

Make a right here along the road that traverses the B Loop. Past Campsite #23, make a right on a short trail that arrives at the A Loop. Walk to the right, passing the group campsite and restrooms. Take the trail leading through a tunnel of evergreen huckleberry, passing above an oxbow meander on Sutton Creek. Wind through a wood of rhododendron and large spruce to switchback up and then drop. The trail braids briefly at a set of steps before switchbacking up an old dune ridge from the creek. Drop to a junction at a grassy expanse, known as Bolduc’s Meadow. The place was once a resort, constructed in the 1930s, of several small cabins. Nothing remains of these structures and the meadow is now a favorite run for local dog owners. Keep straight across the meadow, and pass the Sutton Creek Loop-Sutton Creek North Trail Junction and footbridge. At the third junction, go left to take the shortest route back to the parking area. Undulate through dense thickets before arriving at the Sutton Beach Trailhead.

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder
• Sutton Area Trails (USFS)
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Siuslaw National Forest
• Pacific Northwest Recreation Map Series: Oregon Central Coast

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• Northwest Forest Pass required
• Restrooms, picnic tables, viewing platform, interpretive signs
• Dogs on leash
• Beach access closed: March 15th – September 15th (Snowy plover nesting area)

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Sutton Creek Loop Hike

• Sutton Creek 01-03-18

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Sutton Creek Loop Hike

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Oregon Coast & Coast Range by William L. Sullivan
• 120 Hikes on the Oregon Coast by Bonnie Henderson
• Day Hiking: Oregon Coast by Bonnie Henderson
• Hiking the Oregon Coast by Lizann Dunegan
• Hiking Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
• Hike America: Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
• Oregon Campgrounds Hiking Guide by Rhonda & George Ostertag
• Siuslaw Forest Hikes: A Guide to Oregon’s Central Coast Range Trails by Irene & Dick Lilja
• Oregon’s Best Wildflower Hikes: Northwest Region by George Wuerthner
• Hiking Oregon by Sean Patrick Hill
• Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
• Canine Oregon by Lizann Dunegan

More Links

• Sutton Trails #1321 (USFS)
• Holman Vista Trail #1326 (USFS)
• Darlingtonia Trail #1320 (USFS)
• Sutton Creek Dunes (All Trails)
• Sutton Creek (Richard Hikes)
• Sutton Trails Hike (Cascade Ramblings)
• Sutton Beach Recreation Site (100 Steps on the Oregon Coast)
• Beyond Sutton Lake (Statesman Journal)
• Holman Vista Day Use (USFS)
• Sutton Campground (USFS)

Contributors

• bobcat (creator)