Neahkahnie Mountain from South Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead
- End point: Neahkahnie Mountain Viewpoint
- Trail Log: Trail Log
- Hike Type: Out and back
- Distance: 3.0 miles
- Elevation gain: 840 feet
- High point: 1,631 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Yes
Contents |
Hike Description
The Oregon Coast Trail crosses Neahkahnie Mountain, so you can access the summit ridge viewpoint from the north or the south. This approach is easier and is the one preferred by families with small children.
The trail switchbacks up four times under a canopy of secondary-growth Sitka spruce and a view towards Nehalem Bay from a meadow where checkermallow blooms. Mountain beaver burrow in this hillside, so make sure you don’t twist an ankle in their large holes. Four more switchbacks take you to an even better meadow view before you enter the forest again and switchback up five times, with the trail getting more eroded and rootier. Coast fawn lilies and trilliums bloom here in the spring. Cross the maintenance track that leads to a radio tower, and make a long traverse on the east side of Neahkahnie Mountain’s south ridge. The forest here is dominated by spruce and hemlock. A somewhat sketchy switchback takes you back along a rock face where a rootball of several trees forms an umbrella over the tread. When you reach the ridge, you can head right up a rocky fin to scramble to the Neahkahnie Mountain Viewpoint, or continue on the trail for a short loop.
If you’re doing the loop follow the trail around to the west side of the rocky spine. Here, since you’re just below the viewpoint itself, the vistas really open up, following Neahkahnie Beach south to the Nehalem Bay Mouth and then all the way to Cape Lookout. Back in the forest, look for a user trail leading right, and then follow this up along the spine, dodging some fallen trees, until you emerge on the rocky basalt crest. The view takes in the town of Manzanita below, Nehalem Spit and Nehalem Bay, Manhattan Beach, Twin Rocks, Bayocean Spit, Cape Meares, Three Arch Rocks, and the two mile-long lava peninsula of Cape Lookout.
When you’re done with imbibing the vista, you can descend the south side of the rocky spine to the trail and return the way you came.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Oswald West State Park (Oregon State Parks)
- Oswald West State Park (Northwest Coast Trails)
- Adventure Maps: NW Coast Trail Map & Guide
Regulations or Restrictions, etc.
- Trails closed 10:00 p.m. - 6:00 a.m.; no overnight parking
- Dogs on leash
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Neahkahnie Mountain from South Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Neahkahnie Mountain from South Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Exploring the Oregon Coast Trail by Connie Soper
- Hiking the Oregon Coast by Lizann Dunegan
- Urban Hikes Oregon by Adam Sawyer
- 120 Hikes on the Oregon Coast by Bonnie Henderson
- Day Hiking: Oregon Coast by Bonnie Henderson
- Best Hikes with Children: Western & Central Oregon by Bonnie Henderson
- Trips & Trails: Oregon by William L. Sullivan
- Hiking Oregon's History by William L. Sullivan
- 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Oregon Coast and the Coast Range by William L. Sullivan
- The Oregon Coast Trail Guide by Jon Kenneke (eBook)
- Oregon Coast Trail: Hiking Inn to Inn by Jack D. Remington
- A Hiker's Guide to the Oregon Coast Trail by David E.M. Bucy & Mary C. McCauley
- Oregon State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide by Jan Bannan
More Links
- Oswald West State Park (Oregon State Parks)
- Neahkahnie Mountain (Oregon.com)
- Neahkahnie Mountain (Outdoor Project)
- "Neahkahnie Mountain on Oregon coast is No. 9 on list of Oregon's best landscapes" (Oregon Live)
- "Oswald West State Park tempts with Neahkahnie Mountain, Pacific Ocean views" (Oregon Live)
- Neahkahnie Mountain (South Peak) (Summit Post)
- Oregon Coast Trail Maps (Oregon Parks and Recreation Department: State Parks)
- Oregon Coast Trail (Wikipedia)
Contributors
- CFM (creator)