Revision as of 15:49, 8 September 2017

Nehalem River, Triple C Trail (bobcat)

• Start point: Reehers Camp Trailhead
• End point: Carlson Creek Road View
• Trail log:
• Hike Type: Loop
• Distance: 2.4 miles
• Elevation gain: 280 feet
• High Point: 1300 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Seasons: All year
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: No

Hike Description

This short loop is a good evening or early morning hike for hikers camped at Reehers Campground; alternatively, it could be an hour-long adjunct to doing the Step Creek Hike or the North Gales Creek Trail Hike.

From Reehers Camp Trailhead, hike down an old road bed from the trailhead and then along the course of the Nehalem River shaded by Douglas-fir, red alder, and western red-cedar with an understory of sword fern, Oregon grape, and salmonberry. Soon enough, the trail rises to the Nehalem River bridge on Cochran Road. This spot is also the Gales Creek-Triple C Trail Junction.

Cross the road and pick up the Triple C Trail at the sign. The path heads up the Nehalem River bottom, giving good access to the river, which is shaded by its gallery of red alders and big-leaf maples. To the right is a slope of Douglas-fir with a carpet of sword fern and Oregon grape. Behind this shield of woodland is a replanted clearcut. Rotting snags are all that remains of the big-tree woodland that dominated this landscape before the age of logging and the Tillamook Burns. The trail swings up and away from the Nehalem, making a traverse into a Douglas-fir plantation. Cross Wheeler Road and then cross an abandoned road bed now colonized by Scots broom.

The trail makes a rising traverse and there are views of the forested hills to the north. Then begin to descend near a road bed and pass through a small alder clearing to reach the corner of a replanted clearcut. Head down through an older Douglas-fir/western hemlock woodland and switchback at a large cedar stump. Make a traverse with views of Carlson Creek Road below. Walk up and over a ridgeline and wind down the eastern edge of Reehers Meadow. Note some bigger Douglas-firs in this area. At one such tree, there’s a trail junction. Go left here to access the campground, short trails down to the Nehalem, and two trails that connect the campground with the trailhead. Going right takes you across Reehers Meadow to cross Cochran Road opposite the trailhead entrance.

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• Share trail with mountain bikers

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Triple C Loop Hike

• Gales Creek – Step Creek – the Triple C

• 1/1/13 Four Trails From Reehers Camp (Tillamook StateForest)

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Triple C Loop Hike

Guidebooks that cover this hike

• Hiking from Portland to the Coast by James D. Thayer

More Links

• Triple C Trail (Forest Hiker)
• Dayhikes: Triple C Trail, OR (Eyehike.com)
• Tillamook Burn (Oregon Encyclopedia)

Contributors

• bobcat (creator)