Salishan Spit

Every August we head to Gleneden Beach for a family reunion, and almost every year we consider hiking Salishan Spit due the starting point being less than a mile from the site of the reunion. We had consistently passed on it though in favor of doing a wildflower hike in the mountains the day after instead. With the wildflower season over early this year it was a perfect time to finally check out the spit. We started at the Gleneden Beach Wayside south of Lincoln City, OR. The wayside consisted of a large parking area, picnic tables, restrooms, and a large gazebo. A rabbit was the only one present when we arrived.

The area was full of salal berries which are edible but not one of our favorites.

There were a few flowers at the wayside as well.

A short path led through a small stand of trees and down to the beach.

It was a weird day at the beach. We had been having a heat wave in the Willamette Valley with highs over 100 degrees and our drive to the coast had been under bright blue skies. When we had arrived at Lincoln City the sky was still blue but there was a big wall of clouds visible off-shore over the Pacific. As we drove south down Highway 101 toward Gleneden Beach the blue sky was replaced by fog. It was blue sky again at the wayside, but when we reached the beach we saw that we were in a pocket of blue amid the fog. The bank of clouds off-shore was also visible.

We headed north along the beach. The tide was out as we watched seagulls search for snacks in the surf.

The beach was fairly free of debris but there were a few items to inspect including some nice drift wood.

One of the things we were looking forward to on this hike was the possibility of seeing some seals. We spotted the first one of the day in the ocean about half way down the spit.

The spit ends where Siletz Bay meets the Pacific Ocean.

As we walked around the end of the spit we spotted many seals floating past on their way back out to the ocean.

We then turned along the bay.

There were several groups of seals lounging in the bay as well as a Great Blue Heron looking for breakfast.

Along the shore we spotted a bird laying in the sand. We weren’t sure if it was injured or just a young bird but we kept our distance so we didn’t disturb it.

A wide path then led through some stunted pines and grasses to the Salishan North parking area.

From the parking area we crossed back over to the ocean due to the presence of private residences on the bay side of the spit beyond the parking area.

We returned along the beach to the wayside. Many of the seagulls were still hunting for goodies to eat although some were now taking a break.

Our total distance was 7.7 miles making this a relatively short hike for us but we finished with plenty of time to get to the reunion on time. It was a far cry from the previous weeks hikes in the Three Sisters Wilderness but it was great to see so many seals and the mild temperatures made for a really nice hike. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157656249280980