Smith Homestead Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Smith Homestead Trailhead
- End point: Smith Homestead Meadow
- Hike type: In and out + small loop
- Distance: 0.8 miles
- Elevation gain: 20 feet
- High point: 555 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
This day-use area is the best pit stop along Highway 6, and the short interpretive trail allows you to stretch your legs. There are picnic tables and restrooms as well as a building that can be rented for events. In summer, the Wilson River here is calm enough to permit safe swimming at a looping bend in its course; during heavy winter rains, it becomes a wide, spreading torrent that may flood parts of the trail. The site is just upriver from the Tillamook Forest Center and across the river from the Jones Creek Campground.
The land here was settled by Walter and Isaac Smith in 1886. The Smiths and their families built a home, planted fruit trees, and harvested timber from the nearby hills. In 1893, the Wilson River Wagon Road, a toll road, opened up the Wilson River/Gales Creek valleys for regular stagecoach travel between the Willamette Valley and Tillamook Bay, and Walter and Alice Smith capitalized by turning their homestead into an inn for travelers. The toll for two days of travel (not counting a stay at the inn) was $1.50. The trail described below leads to the old homestead site in a meadow.
The wide Meadow Trail begins at the east end of the parking area under cedar, hemlock, big-leaf maple, red alder, cottonwood, and Douglas-fir. At a junction, keep left and walk into an open area ringed by maples. Walk above an overflow channel of the Wilson River which is flowing through a large alder grove. Enter the main meadow, which often floods in times of heavy rain. You may even find a spawned out steelhead decaying in the grassy expanse! At the former homestead site, a lone oak stands sentinel. (The meadow area has been restored as for many years it was the site of a campground.) The Wilson River braids here: look for mergansers speeding down with the current and for spawning steeled when the waters are calm and clear.
A trail leads left through blackberries to the cobbled shore of the Wilson River. Straight on, past the oak, you'll also reach the river where it braids around an alder-wooded island.
Head back to the junction, and go left on the Wetland Overview Trail. This winds among alders, cedars, and mossy maples dripping with licorice fern. You'll pass a huge stump and come out at the parking area. In the middle of the parking area, there are a couple of interpretive panels telling about the history of the site. You can also walk to the river and around the front of the learning center, where you'll find a salmon interpretive sign. When the water levels are up, fierce rapids plough the riverbed below.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Oregon Department of Forestry: Tillamook State Forest Map & Guide
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Dogs on leash
- Restrooms, picnic tables, interpretive signs
- Campground nearby at Jones Creek
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Smith Homestead Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Smith Homestead Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- none
More Links
- Smith Homestead Day Use Area (Outdoor Project)
- Smith Homestead & Jones Creek Day Use-Wilson River (Oregon Discovery)
- Smith Stagecoach Stop (Geocaching)
- Tillamook Forest Center: Facilities (Tillamook State Forest)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)