Difference between revisions of "South Clatsop Slough Loop Hike"
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, landowners diked and drained tidal wetlands and flood plains to create rich pastures for dairy cattle. In doing so, they destroyed entire ecosystems and salmon spawning sites. At South Clatsop Slough, a recent addition to the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, the National Park Service converted a tide gate into a road bridge in 2007 and, in 2012, dug channels in the 47-acre wetland to provide habitat for salmon smolts. Beginning at the [[Fort Clatsop Trailhead]], you’ll soon join the 1.5 mile South Slough Trail, which takes you around the edge of the cattail wetland and then over a forested ridge to join the [[Netul River Hike|Netul River Trail]] on the Lewis and Clark River. | In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, landowners diked and drained tidal wetlands and flood plains to create rich pastures for dairy cattle. In doing so, they destroyed entire ecosystems and salmon spawning sites. At South Clatsop Slough, a recent addition to the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, the National Park Service converted a tide gate into a road bridge in 2007 and, in 2012, dug channels in the 47-acre wetland to provide habitat for salmon smolts. Beginning at the [[Fort Clatsop Trailhead]], you’ll soon join the 1.5 mile South Slough Trail, which takes you around the edge of the cattail wetland and then over a forested ridge to join the [[Netul River Hike|Netul River Trail]] on the Lewis and Clark River. | ||
| − | Go into the Visitor Center to pay your entrance fee, which is good for seven days. Then walk back across the parking area to a hiker/picnic table sign. Keep right to walk through a picnic area, and reach a four-way junction. Take the middle trail, the Clay Pit Trail. This narrow, undulating, rooty trail takes you through a dark Sitka spruce/western hemlock wood of ponds and ditches that were dug out to supply low-grade clay for making bricks in the first half of the 20th century. Dense thickets of salmonberry and drooping slopes of sword fern and deer fern add to the lush ambience. Take a steep | + | Go into the Visitor Center to pay your entrance fee, which is good for seven days. Then walk back across the parking area to a hiker/picnic table sign. Keep right to walk through a picnic area, and reach a four-way junction. Take the middle trail, the Clay Pit Trail. This narrow, undulating, rooty trail takes you through a dark Sitka spruce/western hemlock wood of ponds and ditches that were dug out to supply low-grade clay for making bricks in the first half of the 20th century. Dense thickets of salmonberry and drooping slopes of sword fern and deer fern add to the lush ambience. Take a steep stepped trail up, and wind through younger forest to reach the junction with the Fort to Sea Trail. Go right here, and cross Fort Clatsop Road to follow a gravel tread through thickets of salal and a wounded woodland of conifers snapped off during the Great Coastal Gale of December 2007. Foxglove and elderberry thrive in the sunny spots. Cross a footbridge, and keep left at the [[Fort to Sea-Kwis Kwis Trail East Junction]]. |
The Fort to Sea Trail rises gently through more storm-damaged forest to reach Perkins Road and the [[South Clatsop Slough Trailhead]], which has a vault toilet. The South Slough Trail descends from the gate on the road through a salal understory. Head up a set of trail steps, and then drop to cross a small creek in a grove of alders. Reach an unmarked junction. The Upper South Slough Trail forks off to the right, but stay left to cross a gravel road and hike along the verge of the cattail-rimmed South Slough. From this north shore, you can see south to [[Saddle Mountain]]’s distinctive humps. Pass an interpretive sign, and then cross a footbridge and boardwalk. Switchback up an alder-forested slope to reach the lower junction with the Upper South Slough Trail. | The Fort to Sea Trail rises gently through more storm-damaged forest to reach Perkins Road and the [[South Clatsop Slough Trailhead]], which has a vault toilet. The South Slough Trail descends from the gate on the road through a salal understory. Head up a set of trail steps, and then drop to cross a small creek in a grove of alders. Reach an unmarked junction. The Upper South Slough Trail forks off to the right, but stay left to cross a gravel road and hike along the verge of the cattail-rimmed South Slough. From this north shore, you can see south to [[Saddle Mountain]]’s distinctive humps. Pass an interpretive sign, and then cross a footbridge and boardwalk. Switchback up an alder-forested slope to reach the lower junction with the Upper South Slough Trail. | ||
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Keep left here, and drop into a shady creek gully thicketed with salmonberry. Cross a footbridge, rise a little, and then switchback down twice to reach a boardwalk. Take a boardwalk across a wide wetland vegetated with red alder, skunk-cabbage, salmonberry, and coast sedge. Hike up a forested slope, and cross a curly-railed footbridge. Switchback up in a dense young woodland getting views through the trees to Coxcomb Hill in Astoria. Cross over a crest, and hike down an old logging track to reach Fort Clatsop Road. Cross the road, and come to the [[South Slough-Netul River Trail Junction]]. | Keep left here, and drop into a shady creek gully thicketed with salmonberry. Cross a footbridge, rise a little, and then switchback down twice to reach a boardwalk. Take a boardwalk across a wide wetland vegetated with red alder, skunk-cabbage, salmonberry, and coast sedge. Hike up a forested slope, and cross a curly-railed footbridge. Switchback up in a dense young woodland getting views through the trees to Coxcomb Hill in Astoria. Cross over a crest, and hike down an old logging track to reach Fort Clatsop Road. Cross the road, and come to the [[South Slough-Netul River Trail Junction]]. | ||
| − | Turn right here to hike the quarter mile down the Lewis and Clark River under a canopy of alders to [[Netul Landing Trailhead|Netul Landing]]. Note all the pilings in the river, the vestiges of what was once a “wet sort yard” for logs. You’ll encounter restrooms first | + | Turn right here to hike the quarter mile down the Lewis and Clark River under a canopy of alders to [[Netul Landing Trailhead|Netul Landing]]. Note all the pilings in the river, the vestiges of what was once a “wet sort yard” for logs. You’ll encounter restrooms first and then a picnic area at the bulkhead where the log crane was once anchored. A covered interpretive display gives details about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the native inhabitants at the time of their arrival. [[Netul Landing Trailhead|Netul Landing]] was the site where the Lewis and Clark Expedition put in their large canoes in December 1805. They established their winter camp nearby at [[Fort Clatsop]]. |
You can follow the sidewalk south for another third of a mile to a canoe/kayak launch and another picnic area. Interpretive signs detail the history of the log yard. Stronger steel pilings supplemented the 60-foot Douglas-fir poles that were embedded 20 feet into the river bottom. Massive log rafts were formed here to be floated up the Columbia as far as pulp and plywood mills in Portland. Spruce logs were exported to Japan to make musical instruments. A log raft was 820 feet long and 50 feet wide and held 100 bundles of logs. That came to about 3,500 60 to 80-foot logs! | You can follow the sidewalk south for another third of a mile to a canoe/kayak launch and another picnic area. Interpretive signs detail the history of the log yard. Stronger steel pilings supplemented the 60-foot Douglas-fir poles that were embedded 20 feet into the river bottom. Massive log rafts were formed here to be floated up the Columbia as far as pulp and plywood mills in Portland. Spruce logs were exported to Japan to make musical instruments. A log raft was 820 feet long and 50 feet wide and held 100 bundles of logs. That came to about 3,500 60 to 80-foot logs! | ||
Revision as of 00:32, 17 April 2019
- Start point: Fort Clatsop Trailhead
- End point: Netul Landing Trailhead
- Trail log:
- Distance: 3.2 miles
- Elevation gain: 270 feet
- High point: 170 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, landowners diked and drained tidal wetlands and flood plains to create rich pastures for dairy cattle. In doing so, they destroyed entire ecosystems and salmon spawning sites. At South Clatsop Slough, a recent addition to the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, the National Park Service converted a tide gate into a road bridge in 2007 and, in 2012, dug channels in the 47-acre wetland to provide habitat for salmon smolts. Beginning at the Fort Clatsop Trailhead, you’ll soon join the 1.5 mile South Slough Trail, which takes you around the edge of the cattail wetland and then over a forested ridge to join the Netul River Trail on the Lewis and Clark River.
Go into the Visitor Center to pay your entrance fee, which is good for seven days. Then walk back across the parking area to a hiker/picnic table sign. Keep right to walk through a picnic area, and reach a four-way junction. Take the middle trail, the Clay Pit Trail. This narrow, undulating, rooty trail takes you through a dark Sitka spruce/western hemlock wood of ponds and ditches that were dug out to supply low-grade clay for making bricks in the first half of the 20th century. Dense thickets of salmonberry and drooping slopes of sword fern and deer fern add to the lush ambience. Take a steep stepped trail up, and wind through younger forest to reach the junction with the Fort to Sea Trail. Go right here, and cross Fort Clatsop Road to follow a gravel tread through thickets of salal and a wounded woodland of conifers snapped off during the Great Coastal Gale of December 2007. Foxglove and elderberry thrive in the sunny spots. Cross a footbridge, and keep left at the Fort to Sea-Kwis Kwis Trail East Junction.
The Fort to Sea Trail rises gently through more storm-damaged forest to reach Perkins Road and the South Clatsop Slough Trailhead, which has a vault toilet. The South Slough Trail descends from the gate on the road through a salal understory. Head up a set of trail steps, and then drop to cross a small creek in a grove of alders. Reach an unmarked junction. The Upper South Slough Trail forks off to the right, but stay left to cross a gravel road and hike along the verge of the cattail-rimmed South Slough. From this north shore, you can see south to Saddle Mountain’s distinctive humps. Pass an interpretive sign, and then cross a footbridge and boardwalk. Switchback up an alder-forested slope to reach the lower junction with the Upper South Slough Trail.
Keep left here, and drop into a shady creek gully thicketed with salmonberry. Cross a footbridge, rise a little, and then switchback down twice to reach a boardwalk. Take a boardwalk across a wide wetland vegetated with red alder, skunk-cabbage, salmonberry, and coast sedge. Hike up a forested slope, and cross a curly-railed footbridge. Switchback up in a dense young woodland getting views through the trees to Coxcomb Hill in Astoria. Cross over a crest, and hike down an old logging track to reach Fort Clatsop Road. Cross the road, and come to the South Slough-Netul River Trail Junction.
Turn right here to hike the quarter mile down the Lewis and Clark River under a canopy of alders to Netul Landing. Note all the pilings in the river, the vestiges of what was once a “wet sort yard” for logs. You’ll encounter restrooms first and then a picnic area at the bulkhead where the log crane was once anchored. A covered interpretive display gives details about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the native inhabitants at the time of their arrival. Netul Landing was the site where the Lewis and Clark Expedition put in their large canoes in December 1805. They established their winter camp nearby at Fort Clatsop.
You can follow the sidewalk south for another third of a mile to a canoe/kayak launch and another picnic area. Interpretive signs detail the history of the log yard. Stronger steel pilings supplemented the 60-foot Douglas-fir poles that were embedded 20 feet into the river bottom. Massive log rafts were formed here to be floated up the Columbia as far as pulp and plywood mills in Portland. Spruce logs were exported to Japan to make musical instruments. A log raft was 820 feet long and 50 feet wide and held 100 bundles of logs. That came to about 3,500 60 to 80-foot logs!
Then hike north along the river past the South Slough-Netul River Trail Junction. Take time also to scan the river for bird life. Mergansers, mallards, buffleheads, and shovelers are common here in the winter. Great blue herons and common egrets pose at the water's edge, and you may catch a sighting of a bald eagle or osprey. Cross the wide South Slough Bridge, where the newly invigorated tidal channel that drains the South Slough meets the river. Hike close to Fort Clatsop Road along a backwater choked with cattails. Pass a large Sitka spruce, and get a view north and downriver to the Astoria Column perched atop Coxcomb Hill. Then take a boardwalk that threads through the spruce trees in a sedge swamp. A short spur leads left to a viewing platform from which you can see Saddle Mountain. Hike into woods, and reach a junction.
Go right here, to head up a wooded slope to restored Fort Clatsop. This is the 2005 version, constructed after the 1955 replica burned down. There may be volunteers here dressed in period costumes as well as reenactments of expedition activities. Walking back to the Visitor Center, you’ll pass a bronze statue of Sacagawea, the Lewis and Clark expedition’s guide and interpreter. This statue is a replica of the one that once stood at Netul Landing. Thieves stole the original statue in January 2008 and broke it up in order to sell the metal.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Fort to Sea Trail and Associated Trails (National Park Service) (Map comes with entrance fee)
- Sky Island Graphics: Oregon Coast Area Trails (Netul Landing Trail only)
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- $7.00 entrance fee for adults 16 and over at Fort Clatsop, or National Park pass.
- Restrooms, picnic tables, visitor center, interpretive signs
- Dogs on leash
- Fort Clatsop open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., late June – Labor Day; 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Labor Day – late June; closed Christmas Day
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for South Clatsop Slough Loop
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for South Clatsop Slough Loop
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- none
More Links
- Fort to Sea Trail and Associated Trails (National Park Service)
- Netul River/South Slough Loop Trail (Outdoor Project)
- South Clatsop Slough Restoration Project (National Park Service)
- Fort Clatsop restored south slough (Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership)
- Misty Morning at Fort Clatsop (Anne’s Travels)
- Welcome to Netul Landing (Lewis and Clark Trail)
- Netul River Trail (OR) (The Trail Posse)
- Netul River Trail (All Trails)
- Netul Landing Trail (Hiking Project)
- Netul Landing (National Park Service)
- Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (National Park Service)
- Fort Clatsop (The Oregon Encyclopedia)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)