The Rockaway Cedar, Cedar Wetlands Preserve, Rockaway Beach (bobcat)

In the spruce swamp, Old Growth Cedar Preserve (bobcat)

Skunk-cabbage bog, Old Growth Cedar Preserve (bobcat)

Entering dense woods, Old Growth Cedar Preserve (bobcat)

The little loop at Rockaway Beach's Old Growth Cedar Preserve (bobcat) Courtesy: Caltopo

• Start point: Old Growth Cedar Preserve Trailhead
• End point: Rockaway Cedar
• Hike Type: Lollipop loop
• Distance: 1.2 miles
• Elevation gain: 20 feet
• High Point: 60 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Seasons: All year
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: No

Hike Description

At 154 feet in height and almost 50 feet in circumference, Rockaway Beach’s magnificent old cedar resides amid a tiny remnant of old-growth coastal bog among other large Sitka spruce and western red-cedar trees. Along this developed stretch of coastline, it’s a surprise to explore the dark interior of such a primeval swamp, the 45 boggy acres of the Old Growth Cedar Preserve. The tree and the bog are now accessed by a universal access raised boardwalk, opened in June 2019, that is half a mile long. You return via a short (and optional) loop from the old cedar that tunnels through the salal on a rough, rooty, squishy tread that treats you to close encounters with the Saltair Creek Marsh (hiking boots, not tennis shoes, recommended for this part).

The boardwalk begins from the trailhead on Highway 101, right at the welcome sign for Rockaway Beach. You'll proceed through a dense thicket of willow, with alder, hemlock, and a few Sitka spruce towering higher. Skunk-cabbage festoons the small open area in the marsh. Salal, salmonberry, and coast sedge form an undergrowth. Stark skeletons of deceased spruce jut skyward. At a junction, bear right over more marshland to pass into a dense, shady woodland where cedars become more prevalent. Evergreen huckleberry and red huckleberry can be found here. You'll pass a couple of large spruce trees and an even bigger stump to cross a high bridge over a depression.

Soon reach the new platform around the Rockaway Cedar, one of Oregon’s biggest trees in terms of sheer mass and, with its gnarly bark and contorted trunk, one of the most personable at an estimated 500-900 years old. Look up and note the hemlocks that sprouted high above and sent their roots down through the tree’s rotten core. The platform here was constructed to avoid soil compaction, so please stay on it. There's a picnic table for a convenient snack break.

You can acquire a closer experience of Saltair Creek’s soggy bottomland by taking the steps down on the other side of the old cedar. This narrow trail winds through tunnels of salal, evergreen huckleberry, and salmonberry, and you'll pass another ancient cedar. When you come to a spur off the main boardwalk, go left to reach a viewing platform with benches and a picnic table. Then return to the main boardwalk junction, passing first over Saltair Creek, and bear right for your vehicle.

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• Open sunrise to sunset
• Dogs on leash
• Port-a-potty, picnic tables on the boardwalk

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Rockaway Cedar Preserve Hike

• Neahkahnie Mountain from Manzanita + Rockaway Cedar 3-10-21
• Oregon’s north coast: some mini-hikes

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Rockaway Cedar Preserve Hike

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• The Disabled Hiker's Guide to Western Washington and Oregon by Syren Nagakyrie
• 100 Hikes: Oregon Coast by William L. Sullivan

More Links

• Cedar Wetlands Preserve (Explore Rockaway Beach)
• “Astoria, Rockaway Beach city trails lead to unusually big trees” (Oregon Live)
• Cedar Wetlands (light-in-leaves)
• Old Growth Forest: The Cedar Wetlands Preserve (Visit Rockaway Beach)
• “Viewing platform will help protect giant red cedar” (Tillamook Headlight Tribune)
• Rockaway Beach: Official Grand Opening of the Old Growth Cedar Nature Preserve Walkway Saturday June 15th (Tillamook County Pioneer)

Contributors

• bobcat (creator)