Month: April 2025

Wildlife Week – Day 2: Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge 04/28/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 30, 2025
No Comments on Wildlife Week – Day 2: Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge 04/28/2025

For day 2 of my “Wildlife Week” vacation I returned to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge. This marked my fourth visit to this refuge which is just under 30 minutes from Salem (2014) (2021) (2022). For this visit I parked at the Eagle Marsh Trailhead and hiked a total of 10.5-miles visiting Eagle, Teal, Willow, Mallard, Egret, Pintail and Killdeer Marshes as well as Mohoff, Wood Duck, Dunlin and South Ponds.
The route included two short road walks along Buena Vista and Wintel Roads.

My “sunrise” start was once again under a canopy of clouds making pictures of the numerous ducks and other birds difficult during the lollipop loop past Eagle Marsh and around Teal and Willow Marshes.

Ring-necked ducks

Much of the area, and most trails, are closed between October 1st and April 1st each year.

Ring-necked ducks and a very out of focus pied billed grebe.

Willow Marsh

Northern filckers

Geese

Teal Marsh

Pied billed grebe

Common yellowthroat

Pair of bald eagles in the snag.

One of the eagles.

I believe this is a greater yellowlegs.

Bufflehead

Green-winged teals

Killdeer

Leaving Eagle Marsh. Even over an hour after sunrise there wasn’t much light.

A 0.2-mile walk to the SW along Buena Vista Road brought me to the start of the dike trails at Mohoff Pond and Mallard Marsh. I took the dike between the two and followed it to a 4-way junction between Mohoff Pond, Mallard Marsh, Egret Marsh, and Pintail Marsh.

Robin

The mudflats at Mallard Marsh were busy.

Green-winged teals and several species of shore birds. I think the darker, larger birds are short billed dowitchers, the smallest are sandpipers and there is one with a black mark on its underside which may be a dunlin.

Better look at the short billed dowitchers.

A little better look at what I think might be dunlins.

I see you.

This American bittern saw me way before I saw it. It had flown up earlier and landed in the vegetation and even though I watched where it landed, I couldn’t make it out until it took flight again.

Savanah sparrow that appears as annoyed with the bugs as I was.

Not a great photo but there is a northern pintail lower right.

A sandpiper, my guess is a least sandpiper.

American wigeons. Another not great shot but they were all sticking close to the far shore of Mallard Marsh.

Mallards hanging out at Mallard Marsh.

Nearing the 4-way junction.

At the junction I went straight passing between Egret and Pintail Marshes. This was the first time I’d taken this route.

Northern shoveler

I made my way to the Pintail Marsh Trailhead and then road walked another 0.3-miles east along Wintel Road to a small pullout along the Prairie Extension Trail.
Pintail Marsh from the trailhead along Wintel Road.

Cinamon Teal

I veered right on the Prairie Extension’s grassy tract.

Camas

Hawk

Song sparrow

Spotted towhee

Common vetch

After two tenths of a mile on the Prairie Extension I noticed a hiker symbol marking the Woodland Loop Trail on the right.

While this trail has theoretically been there on my previous visits it hasn’t always been obvious or passable. Storm damage and Spring flooding had kept me off this trail until today. The third of a mile trail passes through a dense and damp woodland before returning to the grassy track near the end of the Rail Trail boardwalk.

Avens

Western meadowrue

Obstacle

Newer looking bridge.

Older bridge.

End of the Woodland Loop.

The boardwalk to the left.

I turned right and hiked around Dunlin and Killdeer Ponds then made my way back to the Rail Trail boardwalk. There was some commotion at the SW corner of Dunlin Pond caused by several bald eagles having a heated conversation.
The one trying to land was apparently not invited to the party.

There are 3 immature and 2 adult eagles in the trees. Then there was the juvenile that wasn’t welcome and possibly another juvenile that had been flying around. I was having a hard time keeping track of just how many there were.

After tearing my focus away from the eagle meeting, I watched a northern harrier hunt in the field opposite of Dunlin Pond.
Grey ghost

Dunlin Pond

These may be the two juveniles that were not allowed at the meeting.

A nearly dry South Pond on the right after having looped around Killdeer Marsh.

The start of the boardwalk.

I didn’t see much of anything along the boardwalk (which is typical) until near the end when things picked up near Wood Duck Pond.
Dove

Song sparrow

Wood ducks

Mallard

Swallow

Cinnamon teal

I turned right at the end of the boardwalk and took the Prairie Extension back to Witnel Road and then hiked back to the Pintail Marsh Trailhead.

Woodpecker

Pintail Marsh (all the black specs are insects)

I went left along the marsh and stayed left at junctions to pass Mohoff Pond and make my way back to Buena Vista Road.

Female red-winged blackbird

Male red-winged blackbird

American coot

The highly invasive American bullfrog.

A good look at the size difference between a Canada goose (left) and cackling geese.

Sunning snake

Canada goose

I walked the road back to Eagle Marsh where a great blue heron was hanging out next to the overlook.

The heron’s head between the interpretive signs.

Ankeny has never disappointed. I always see a lot of wildlife, but getting good pictures without a professional camera and telephoto lens is difficult given the size of the ponds and how easy it is for the birds to put a good deal of distance between people and themselves. In addition to the wildlife included in the post I also saw an osprey, a coyote (just before pulling into the parking area), a scrub jay, and numerous small birds that would not cooperate for photos. All in all, it was a great addition to Wildlife Week. Happy Trails!

Flicker Album: Ankeny 2025

Corvallis Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Wildlife Week – Day 1: E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area 04/27/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 29, 2025
2 Comments on Wildlife Week – Day 1: E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area 04/27/2025

We have been fortunate in years past to both have the ability to take 4 weeks of vacation each year which helped immensely in our completing our “500 featured hikes” goal last year (post). Heather’s job had changed in late 2023 resulting in her losing a couple weeks of vacation time each year so after taking a couple of weeks of unpaid time-off in 2024 to complete our hiking goal I have a few solo weeks in 2025. For the first solo week I went with a theme, wildlife week, and planned a series of hikes at various federal and state designated wildlife refuges/areas in the Willamette Valley.

I kicked wildlife week off with a visit to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area located just north of Corvallis (about 30 minutes from Salem). We’d hiked here in July 2022 (post) but had yet to check out the short Coffin Butte Trail located along Highway 99. Today’s plan was to hike that trail then revisit the Angling Pond from our first trip. There is a $10.00 daily parking fee at the 20 ODFW wildlife areas or you can get an annual fee for $30.00

I pulled into the Coffin Butte Trailhead just before Sunrise (6:07am) in hopes that it might be a colorful morning, but alas the cloud cover was solid.

This is a fairly straight forward trail that initially follows a wide grassy track as it climbs to a viewpoint overlooking the wildlife area. The trail then continues, steeply at times, up Coffin Butte to the boundary of the refuge. This upper section is rougher, more overgrown, and full of poison oak and there are no real views. The trail is also next to the Coffin Butte Landfill which means that it can be a bit smelly if the air is moving in the right (wrong) direction. That being said I did the full 1.6-mile out-and-back (455′ of elevation gain) just to say I had and hope that I effectively avoid the leaves of three.
The landfill to the left.

One of two pointers to keep hikers on track.

Sign at the viewpoint.

The remains of a bench at the viewpoint.

Buttercups and iris

The sign announces the “Summit 604′”, but the actual summit is further along the ridge on private property meaning the trail ends here.

A mariposa lily surrounded by poison oak.

After reaching the “summit” I returned to the car and made the one-mile drive to the Angling Pond Parking Area
The busy parking area.

I wandered a bit to the NE of the parking area on trails before returning to the parking area and re-hiking the lollipop loop we’d done in 2022. I changed it up a bit by doing the loop counterclockwise this time. Before returning to the car, I also detoured west along one of the refuge roads to see a little more of the area. There are ample opportunities to explore here, a sort of choose your own adventure. My hike today still only came to 2.7-miles with virtually no elevation gain, but I opted not to explore more in an attempt to pace myself over the next several days.
My route and the Coffin Butte Trail.

There were a lot of birds out, but the majority did their best to be heard and not seen. That being said I did manage to get photos of a few species making it a successful start to wildlife week.
Wandering on trails to the NE of the parking lot.

Apple blossoms?

Concrete structure left over from Camp Adair.

Turkey vultures

Turkey vulture

Heading for the pond.

There were all kinds of birds singing in the trees but nary a feather to be seen.

Iris

I believe this walkway is new since or previous visit.

There were quite a few folks fishing around the pond, and one great blue heron.

Wetlands across the trail from the pond.

Buffleheads

Pied billed grebe

Camas

Hooded merganser drake

Mallards

Killdeer and hooded mergansers

Sandpiper

Heading west through the wildlife area.

Hummingbird

Family of geese

Robin

Black capped chickadee

Northern flicker

Wetlands

Blackbird

Groundsquirrel

It was a good start to wildlife week and I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing quite a few more critters as the week progresses. Happy Trails!

Flickr: E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Tags Angling Pond, Coffin Butte, Coffin Butte Trail, Coffin Butte Trailhead, Corvallis, E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area, hiking, Oregon, Wildlife

Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Fanno Creek Trail – 04/26/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 28, 2025
No Comments on Fanno Creek Trail – 04/26/2024

The Fanno Creek Trail is part of the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District offering several miles of paved trail along Fanno Creek in Beaverton and Tigard. The current trail is 8.3-miles in length with plans to eventually extend the trail between Willamette Park in Portland to the Tualatin River in Durham. The urban trail passes through a number of parks, and we planned on hiking a section that included five such parks. Before starting our hike though we made a short detour to check out Koll Wetlands.

There is no hike at Koll Wetlands, you just park behind some businesses and look for birds and other wildlife.

We arrived too early for decent pictures due to cloud cover limiting light, but we spotted a rabbit and a number of ducks and other birds.

Duck and ducklings along with a killdeer.

After checking out the wetlands we drove to the Denney Road Trailhead.

We headed south on the trail into Fanno Creek Park and followed the paved path 0.7-miles to a crossing of SW Hall Boulevard.

Chickadee

Mallards

Fanno Creek

Thimbleberry and service berry

We crossed SW Hall Boulevard and entered Greenway Park.

Northern flicker

There are several loop options available in this park if the water isn’t too high. The water was low enough today that we were able to stay left at all junctions and only had to navigate a few feet of muddy, flooded trail.

Hummingbird

Red-winged blackbird

Squirrel

The Greenway Loop Trail had the only flooded section on this day.

Wetlands along the Greenway Loop Trail.

Goose

Hooded mergansers

After rejoining the Fanno Creek Trail at the southern end of Greenway Park we passed under SW Scholls Ferry Road.
This is another section that may flood at high water times.

Shortly after passing under the road the trail passes a sign for Englewood Park.

We spent some time here watching a female mallard attempt to join the drakes along with her ducklings only to be repeatedly chased off.

Mallards ducklings

The ducklings finally making it across the trail.

Goose and gosling

Avens

The trail jogged right at a crossing of SW North Dakota Street then crossed SW Tigard St to enter Dirksen Nature Park.

Camas

Dirksen Nature Park

Viewing platform

Wetlands from the viewing platform.

Dove

Finch

Robin

We continued through the nature park and crossed SW Tiedeman Ave. Two tenths of a mile later we arrived at the Woodard Park Trailhead near the park’s playground.

Lupine

Woodard Park Trailhead.

We made this our turnaround point and headed back. We stayed left again in Greenway Park to complete the three loops there. The trail was fairly busy on the way back but not too crowded and there was still quite a bit of wildlife to see.
This may be a lesser goldfinch, I wasn’t able to see anything but its rear end though.

Spotted towhee

Wood duck

Our out-and-back on the Fanno Creek Trail came to 7.1 miles with minimal elevation gain.

This was a nice urban hike, and we can see why it’s popular with all types of trail users. Dirksen Nature Park was a highlight and looked like it would be a great place to bring the kiddos. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Koll Wetlands and the Fanno Creek Trail

Tags Beaverton, Englewood Park, Fanno Creek, Fanno Creek Trail, Greenway Loop Trail, Greenway Park, hiking, Hooded merganser, Koll Wetlands, Koll Wetlands Park, Oregon, Tigard, Wildlife, Wood Duck, Woodard Park

Eugene Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Thurston Hills, Jasper, and Elijah Bristow Parks – 04/19/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 21, 2025
1 Comment on Thurston Hills, Jasper, and Elijah Bristow Parks – 04/19/2025

As we continue to look for hikes/trails that we have yet to visit we turned to the Eugene-Springfield area. There are numerous parks and natural areas offering hikes of varying lengths in or near these cities. We’ve visited a number of them in past and this outing would add three more to our list of places visited.

We began our day at Thurston Hills Natural Area. The trailhead, located within the city limits of Springfield, opens at 6am (restrooms at 7am).

Opened in 2017 the area offers trails for hikers and mountain bikers. The bike only trails are closed during the wet season which making it a quieter time for hiking. We set off on the gravel Mossy Maple Trail and began a gradual climb.

The trails were well marked with plenty of reminders which users were allowed on them.

There was a variety of Spring wildflowers blooming in the forest as we made our way up the trail.
Giant white wakerobin (Trillium albidum)

The only columbine we spotted.

Fairy lanterns

In addition to identifying the trails by name, several had mile markers.

Trillium

Solomon’s seal

Toothwort

Largeleaf sandwort

Bleeding heart

At 1.9-miles the trail crossed a gravel road (Mossy Maple Connector) and leveled out as it traversed a forested hillside.

Old fungus

Oregon grape

The 2.5-mile marker on the Mossy Maple Trail.

Seasonal closure sign and map at the upper junction with the bike only Yee-Haw Trail.

Pacific hound’s tongue

Fairy slippers

Star flowered solomon’s seal

Iris

Vetch

Fringecup

After approximately three miles on the Mossy Maple Trail we arrived at a junction with the Basalt Rim Trail. The Basalt Rim Trail would be our return route so for now we turned left and climbed a small hill to a meadow in a wide saddle.

Strawberry

Shooting star

Spotted towhee

We crossed the saddle (and an access road) to pick up the Camas Crest Trail.

Small-flowered woodland-stars

Checker lily and baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii)

Manroot

Red-flowering currant

The Camas Crest Trail joined the humorously named Cervus Road briefly where we went left for 100 yards to find the Basalt Rim Trail.

Dogwood

On the Cervus Road passing an old quarry on the right.

The Basalt Rim Trail.

The lupine is still a week or so away from blooming.

Basalt columns

We climbed up the Basalt Rim Trail to a junction with the Cascadian Thumb Trail on the right.

Warning signs along this hiker only trail cautioned trail users of dangerous cliffs and the risk of falling.

Fawn lily

Springfield from the trail.

There is a short one-way loop at the top.

The loop passes several rocky viewpoints, and a lot of poison oak.
Looking down from one of the viewpoints.

The highest peak to the left in the distance is Mount June (post) and the peak in the center is Bear Mountain.

Mt. Pisgah (post) just across the Middle Fork Willamette River with Spencer Butte (post) behind to the right.

Biscuitroot

Another viewpoint along the loop.

The peak with two humps is Mount Nebo. With the naked eye we could just make out Tidbits Mountain (post) in the distance to the right.

Camas (and poison oak) near the viewpoint.

Finishing the loop.

Stripped coralroot.

After completing the loop we returned to the Basalt Rim Trail and turned right and made our way back to the Mossy Maple Trail.
Switchbacks leading down to the Basalt Rim Trail.

Wren

Violets

Basalt outcrops

Ginger

Arriving back at the Mossy Maple Trail.

On the way back down we took the Mossy Maple Connector Trail which was simply a fairly steep gravel road but otherwise retraced our steps to the trailhead.

Starflower

Dunn’s salamander

Mossy Maple Connector Trail (left).

The Yee-Haw Trail coming down from the left to the Mossy Maple Connector Trail.

Buttercups

Fairy bells

Meadow near the trailhead.

The hike here came in just under 8 miles with 1215′ of elevation gain, by far the most strenuous stop of our day.

From Thurston Hills it was just a 15-minute drive to our next stop at Jasper State Recreation Site. This is one of the 25 State Park fee sites requiring a $10.00 day use fee. This year we purchased a $30.00 annual pass, so this stop was in part to make use of the pass and get our money’s worth. The hike description (or lack thereof) was from AllTrails so it was no surprise when we were immediately confused as to where to go from the parking area.

There was no obvious path down to the picnic shelters so we simply headed down to a gravel road where we turned right. After passing an impressive display of Menzies’ larkspur we found an actual trail and wound up making a short (0.6-mile) loop through the woods.

Menzies’ larkspur

Western meadowrue

Bleeding heart and purple deadnettle

Completing the loop.

AllTrails showed a 1.6-mile loop that not only went through the woods but also the picnic areas of the park. Aside from a few service roads there weren’t many obvious paths/trails that we could see so we made up our route which stuck mostly to a faint grassy track along the Middle Fork Willamette River.

Faint grassy path.

Golden crowned sparrow

A section of obvious trail.

The faint path disappeared near the fenced off-leash dog area. The AllTrails loop appeared to turn around here, but since we couldn’t see even a faint path leading back around closer to the parking areas we turned around and followed the river back.
We did find this short section of what appears to have been a paved path in the grass.

This was an odd little hike but the park itself was nice. There was some playground equipment, nice picnic shelters, the off-leash dog area, and some disc golf holes. We managed to get 1.5-miles of walking in and saw some really nice larkspur along the way.

A 10-minute drive took us from the Jasper State Recreation Site to Elijah Bristow State Park. Currently this is not a fee park, which was a bit surprising to us given it has wide range of activities to offer. There are over 10-miles of trails open to hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers along with access to the Middle Fork Willamette River for anglers and kayakers. There are several trailheads to choose from, but we parked at the Lost Creek Trailhead.

The trails here were well maintained and all official junctions were marked with posts consisting of pointers and symbols representing the trail names. That being said having a copy of the map handy was very helpful because the trail names, such as the Elk Trail, can apply to multiple spurs in the same area.

We set off past the signboard on the Elk Trail and soon found ourselves hiking along Lost Creek.

An example of the posts. Every directional arrow, including the far side that you can’t see, was for the “Elk Trail”.

Cedar along the Elk Trail.

We simply stayed left at posted junctions which brought us to the River Trail and the Middle Fork Willamette.

Candy flower and woodland buttercups

Picnic tables near Lost Creek.

Lost Creek

Not a signed junction so this is the one time we veered right.

Middle Fork Willamette River.

The River Trail turned eastward and ran parallel to the Middle Fork for a mile. For much of the mile the river was not visible however there were a few opportunities to reach the river bank.

I was hoping that there might be a turtle hiding in this photo but alas it does not appear that is the case.

We veered left here leaving the River Trail briefly to actually get a view of the river.

We hadn’t noticed the goslings in the grass until seeing the picture of the parents.

Another look at the river shortly before the River Trail turned away.

Barrow’s goldeneye

When we reached a post for the Angler’s Trail we turned right.

We stayed left again at the next junction then right at the following two. For the remainder of the hike we stayed left back to the park entrance road across from the Lost Creek Trailhead.
Left here as right led to a picnic area at the end of the entrance road.

Signpost at the second junction where we kept right.

The clouds had been stubborn all morning but by early afternoon they had mostly burned off.

We stayed left on the trail near the entrance road (across from the Channel Lake Trailhead).

ADA accessible path to a brushy wildlife viewing spot along a backwater channel.

Bufflehead and at least three turtles on the logs behind.

The Lost Creek Trailhead on the far side of the entrance road.

Our loop here came to 3.2-miles with less than 50′ of elevation gain.

A look at the relative proximity of our three stops.

On the day we wound up hiking 12.6-miles with approximately 1250′ of elevation gain, nearly all of which came at Thurston Hills. Thurston Hills was a great hike with a lot more varied scenery and wildflowers than we had expected. We are already planning on returning to Elijah Bristow to check out more of the trails there at some point. Jasper State Recreation Area was a pleasant addition to the stops, but it wouldn’t be a place that we would visit again if we were simply looking for a hike. It did however seem to be a great place to have a picnic with the family and spend a day along the river. Happy Trails!

Tags Barrow's Goldeneye, Basalt Rim Trail, Camas Crest Trail, Cascadian Thumb Trail, Dunn's salamander, Elijah Bristow State Park, Eugune, hiking, Jasper State Recreation Area, Lost Creek, Lost Creek Trailhead, Middle Fork Willamette River, Mossy Maple Trail, Oregon, Springfield, Thurston Hills, Thurston Hills Natural Area, wildflowers

Coastal Range Hiking Oregon Trip report

Wilson River Wagon Road Trail – 04/12/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 14, 2025
No Comments on Wilson River Wagon Road Trail – 04/12/2025

Do you enjoy the sound of gunfire in the morning? If so, we have the trail for you! As I continue to look for hiking trails that we have yet to visit the Wilson River Wagon Road Trail located in the Tillamook State Forest caught my eye. An entry in the OregonHikers.org Field Guide described a hike starting at the Deyoe Creek Trailhead that would visit two waterfalls and the Stagecoach Horse Camp. One of the waterfalls, University Falls, we’d visited in February 2015 (post), but other than 0.1-mile spur trail to that waterfall the rest of this hike would be new to us.

We parked on east side of the Devil’s Lake Fork of the Wilson River at a pair of signboards at the Deyoe Creek Trailhead.
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Note that there is a pullout on the west side of the river here as well and each pullout has a signed trail leading off from it. There used to a footbridge across the river upstream from the trailheads, but that bridge is gone so unless your plan is to do a loop (description here) you want to take the trail on the eastern side signed “Nels Rogers Trail.

The trail took us along the river passing an unnamed waterfall on a side creek after a third of a mile.

After passing the waterfall the Nels Rogers Trail climbed a ridge above the river eventually leaving it and arriving at Beaver Dam Road across from the start of the Wilson River Wagon Road Trail.

Moss carpet

The first of several road and/or OHV trail crossings.

The forest was lovely, and the trail was in great shape, but from early on the sound of gunfire was a constant. It was a little surprising given we’d started hiking just after 6:30am but these target shooters were obviously early risers. We crossed the road and started on a three mile stretch of the Wilson River Wagon Road Trail that would end at the University Falls Trailhead. The Wilson River Wagon Road opened in 1893 for stagecoach and ox cart travel. At the time the toll road was the only route between Tillamook on the Oregon Coast and Forest Grove in the Willamette Valley. The trail was easy to follow and marked well at all road and OHV trail crossings. Yellow violets and white trillium were blooming, and we occasionally were able to hear the birds signing when the target shooters were reloading.

Skunk cabbage

Coming to an OHV trail crossing.

Violet

Another OHV crossing.

Trillium

Mushrooms

Approximately 1.4-miles along the Wilson River Wagon Road the trail followed Saddle Mountain Road for 150 yards before resuming on the far side.

The trail resuming on the left off Saddle Mountain Road.

Deyoe Creek

The Wilson River Wagon Road Trail arriving at University Falls Road across from the University Falls Trailhead.

University Falls Trailhead.

We detoured here and descended 0.3-miles on the University Falls Trail to visit the waterfall.

There was a clearcut on the right-hand side of the trail.

The Gravelle Brothers Trail joined from the right after 0.2-miles. This is the trail we’d used to reach the falls in 2015.

Salmonberry blossoms

Trillium near the falls.

After a brief break at the falls we climbed back up to the trailhead and turned right down University Falls Road for almost two tenths of a mile to the resumption of the trail.
Heading down the road from the trailhead.

Coltsfoot

After a tenth of a mile back on the trail we came to a “Y” junction with the Side Step Trail where we veered right to stay on the Wagon Road Trail.

This section of trail used to recross University Falls Road three times, but a clearcut on the north side of the road has apparently rerouted the trail because we didn’t cross the road again. The first two crossings are now gone with the trail sticking to the south side of the road, and the third crossing was closed by yellow caution tape.

Wood sorrel

University Falls Road below to the right.

This appeared to be a new section of trail replacing the old alignment on the north side of the road.

The closed section of the trail that remains on the north side of the road.

We turned left on University Falls Road and followed it two tenths of a mile to a road junction. Here the Side Step Trail joined from the left.

I decided to head down the road to the right to see if the section of the Wilson Wagon Road Trail from that road to the Stagecoach Horse Camp was open.
The closed section of trail coming up on the right with the continuation of the trail ahead on the left.

The other end of the closed section.

This section was open so I waved Heather on and we headed down through the clearcut to the horse camp.

It was a third of a mile down to the horse camp were we took a break from the light rain that had begun falling off and on under the cover of the community shelter.
A lot more hikes may look like this if the current administration gets its way.

The horse camp in the trees.

After another brief rest we headed back uphill to the Side Step Trail and followed it through the forest back to the Wagon Road Trail and University Falls Trailhead.

In hindsight we probably should have done the side trip to the horse camp before visiting University Falls and then we could have continued on a loop from University Falls that may have been a bit shorter with close to the same amount of elevation gain as the hike we wound up doing. We were focused on following the field guide entry though, so we retraced our steps on the Wilson River Wagon Road and Nels Rogers Trails.

Footbridge over Deyoe Creek.

Rough skinned newt.

In true Oregon fashion the weather was a mix of sprinkles and blue skies.

Violet enjoying some sunlight.

This stump looked suspiciously like Davey Jones from the Pirates of the Carribean movies to us.

Huckleberries

Devil’s Fork

Our hike came in just under 12.5-miles with approximately 1800′ of elevation gain.

The trails were great, and I’d love to give the hike 4 stars but the nearly constant gunfire, which was joined by OHV noise by late morning just won’t allow it. That being said if you’re okay with a noisy hike it is worth a visit. As mentioned earlier we would recommend doing a loop using the Gravelle Brothers Trail from University Falls to connect up to the Nels Rogers Trail rather than hiking back on the Wagon Road Trail and of course you could start from any of the trailheads located along the loop. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Wilson River Wagon Road Trail

Tags devils fork wilson river, Deyoe Creek, Deyoe Creek Trailhead, hiking, Nels Rogers Trail, Oregon, Oregon Coast Range, Side Step Trail, Stagecoach Horse Camp, Tillamook State Forest, Trillium, university falls, University Falls Trailhead, Wilson River Wagon Road, Wilson River Wagon Road Trail

Hiking Northern Coast Oregon Oregon Coast

Up and Over Neahkahnie Mountain – 04/05/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 7, 2025
3 Comments on Up and Over Neahkahnie Mountain – 04/05/2025

We had visited Neahkahnie Mountain in January 2014 (post) and had wanted to come back in Spring to hopefully see some wildflowers. The Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) crosses over Neahkahnie Mountain passing below a rocky viewpoint. In 2014 we had come from the north so this time the plan was to start from the south using a newer section of the OCT beginning in Manzanita, OR. Heather had other plans, so I was on my own for this outing, and decided that I would go up and over Neahkahnie Mountain and visit the Devil’s Cauldron before climbing back over to Manzanita.

The trailhead for the OCT is just a pullout on the shoulder of Neahlem Road.
I had arrived just after 6:30am so it was still a little dark as I set off.

It was early enough that I didn’t have to worry much about traffic when I crossed Highway 101 from Nehalem Road to the signed Oregon Coast Trail.

This 2.1-mile section of the OCT was constructed in 2020 and passes through the Neahkahnie Headwaters Preserve managed by the Lower Nehalem Community Trust.
Please respect private landowners wishes when recreating to ensure that public access continues to be allowed.

The trail began with a couple of ups and downs as it followed a powerline corridor.
Looking back at the sunrise.

The trial eventually left the powerlines and passed through a few stands of trees before arriving at a clearcut. The trail continued climbing through the clearcut and then reentered the forest. Approximately two miles from the trailhead I arrived at a signboard along Road 38555 where I turned left, hiking downhill past a gate to the South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead.

Entering the clearcut.

Bleeding heart

The OCT is well marked.

Woodpecker

Back in the forest.

Interpretive signs in the preserve.

Bench at a viewpoint.

Nehalem Bay (post) from the bench.

Salmonberry blossom

Leaving the preserve.

Violets and pink fawn lilies. These were the first pink fawn lilies I had seen, it seems that we hadn’t timed our coastal hikes right to catch their bloom in the past.

The trailhead was empty at 7:20am.

Trail signs identified the continuation of the OCT which began a series of approximately a dozen switchbacks through the forest.

Trillium

Fringecup

Toothwort

The switchbacks led to a 4-way junction with an old roadbed where the OCT continued on the opposite side.

For the next half mile the trail traversed along the hillside below the summit ridge of Neahkahnie Mountain.

I made use of this bench on the way back to take a break and do some stretching.

View to the north.

Tillamook Head (post) and Haystack Rock (post)

After the half mile the trail made a switchback. The trail here was a little sketchy.

It was obvious that there had been some work done to try and shore up this section of trail.

The trail continued to a saddle where a spur to the right led up a rocky spine to the viewpoint summit.

The view south from the viewpoint.

Cape Meares (post), Three Arch Rocks, and Cape Lookout (post).

Cascade desert parsley near the summit.

After taking in the view I returned to the OCT and continued north.

Looking up at the viewpoint from the OCT.

It was a little over 2-miles down to the North Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead. A September 2020 windstorm had resulted in heavy blowdown to sections of this trail. The trail was closed until 2022 when crews were able to clear it.
Trillium

This was the only obstacle that required any sort of maneuvering.

There are some great trees along the upper section of the trail.

Violets

Recent trail work.

Anemones and violets.

Entering the storm damaged area.

Angora Peak (post) through the trees.

Getting creative with the trail route.

Out of the storm damage.

Skunk cabbage

Cape Falcon from the trail.

Pink fawn lilies

Arriving at Highway 101 near the North Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead.

I dashed across the highway to the trailhead and immediately spotted a few elk in the meadow below the highway.

From the trailhead I picked up the Elk Flats Trail and followed it a tenth of a mile to the Devil’s Cauldron Overlook Trail.

Another tenth of a mile brought me to the overlook.

After admiring Devil’s Cauldron I headed back. The climb back up to the saddle below the viewpoint was approximately 1400′, and after having climbed over 1600′ from Manzanita, and I felt the burn.

Snow queen

He may have been moving faster than I was.

There is nothing better than hearing wrens sing in the forest.

More creative trail in the storm damaged area.

Wood sorrel

The view if you don’t scramble up the spine.

Up to the point that I started back down from the saddle I’d passed 11 people on the trail, all of which were after having spent time at the viewpoint. On the way down I passed at least 30 people between the saddle and the South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead which was now packed with cars.

Trillium with a touch of pink.

Arriving at the packed trailhead.

Continuing on from the busy trailhead I only passed two more people before arriving back Nehalem Road and my lonely car.
Leaving the crowds behind.

Big patch of pink fawn lilies.

Highway 101 from the powerline corridor.

Margined white

One of the more impressive trees in the preserve.

Nearing the Highway 101 crossing. I arrived just as a long line of traffic was passing by but was able to safely cross shortly afterward.

This hike came in at 11.6 miles and roughly 3000′ of elevation gain.

This was a good hike with quite a few wildflowers, some wildlife, and some nice views. It was also a good training hike for some of the alpine hikes with significant elevation gain later in the season. The various trailheads offer plenty of options for those who might not want to hike as far or climb so much, but even the shortest route (South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead) gains 840′ in 1.5-miles to the viewpoint. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Neahkahnie Mountain from Manzanita

Tags devils cauldron, elk, Elk Flats Trail, hiking, Lower Nehalem Community Trust, Manzanita, Neahkahnie Headwaters Preserve, Neahkahnie mountain, Neahkahnie Mountain Trail, Nehalem Bay, Nehalem Road Trailhead, North Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead, Oregon, oregon coast trail, Oswald West State Park, South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead