Looking southward toward Cape Kiwanda and Haystack Rock from the Cape Lookout Trail. (cfm)

Bald Eagle perched in a cliffside tree. (Mike Wilson)

Morning fog on Cape Lookout. (Steve Hart)

Paintbrush near the end of the trail. (Steve Hart)

• Hikes to this location:
  • Cape Lookout Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)
  • Cape Lookout North Hike   (TH | <—   —> | LOG)

• Latitude: 45.33773
• Longitude: -124.00682
• Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
• Elevation: 800 feet

Description

According to Ellen Morris Bishop in Hiking Oregon's Geology, Cape Lookout is "the elongate cast of a coastal valley and channel system that was filled by a Columbia River basalt flow about 15.5 million years ago". The harder basalt has persisted while the Pacific Ocean has slowly eroded the surrounding coastline resulting in a dramatic 2+ mile long peninsula jutting westward out to sea." There are three hikes available here: the Cape Lookout Hike, the Cape Lookout South Hike, and the Cape Lookout North Hike.

The tip of Cape Lookout is a great place to watch whales migrating up and down the Oregon Coast. The abrupt two mile finger of land forces the whales to swim out and around the point.

Guidebooks that cover this destination

• Hiking Oregon's Geology, by Ellen Morris Bishop
• 100 Hikes on the Oregon Coast, by William L. Sullivan

More Links

• Cape Lookout (Wikipedia)

Contributors

• CFM (creator)