I want to start sharing a few areas in my neck of the woods that are pretty awesome. We have lived in Oregon for one year. Our time here has been spent hiking, kayaking, walking, exploring, and looking for the next exciting adventure. I recently learned that over 1,000,000 people visit Newport Oregon each year. That's a lot of people! I think that maybe they might need a few things to do outside of shopping and eating. Our town is small but is packed with adventure.
Adventure always awaits!
I'm not sure if we will ever get around to everything we want to do while living in Oregon but we are definitely giving it our all. Every weekend we make it a point to go out exploring and discovering this beautiful state.
Living at the beach has been an amazing experience. I never knew how much my heart would fall in love with the sound of the waves and the feel of sand in my toes. It has impacted our family in the best way. The coast is visually stimulating to our minds. The beautiful beaches never let us down.
This particular hike is not located in Newport. It actually is up by Lincoln City which is a 22 mile drive north on Hwy 101. It is in my county though. I feel that this hike is close enough to our home to spotlight it for those who visit Newport.
We happened to pick a very warm and clear day for our hike. You can see for miles from the top. Just look at the photo below. Eye candy for miles and miles.
The Cascade Head hike is a tourist dream for seeing the Oregon Coast from an advantage point. High above the seas with miles and miles of the prettiest blues and greens in sight. You start out with a wooded trail through private lands and this slowly leads you out from under the canopy of huge Cyprus Trees. At first you think you may never see the sky again and then with a burst of brightness, it's right there--sky and ocean as far as the eye can see. The coastline, the river, and the peaks of small islands floating in the sea. The trail appears to lead you into the ocean only to wrap around and have you climbing from 500 feet to 1300 feet in about a mile. Huffing and puffing we made it to the top.
This is a great link to find out about the trail system: Cascade Head Trail Hike
Oregon Hikers Map link is HERE.
Parking is at Knights Park. There are no fees or special permission associated with this hike.
That last mile is a killer! I won't lie. My butt was on fire (in a good way, of course). We had to bribe Isabella with a free school day in order to convince her to go the last leg. She made it. We all made it. We were all dripping with sweat but wore our smiles proudly.
The feeling of accomplishing something tough is empowering. I wanted Isabella to understand that she is capable of doing hard things. She did it and loved it. In fact, as we came down the mountain, she mentioned several times to hikers going up that the trip was worth the hike.
We originally thought the whole hike was 3.5 miles. HA! That was one way. We completely understood when we returned to our car and read the sign why we all felt like we had been to hell and back--it was hot, dusty, and at times, a challenge. Honestly, if we had known that it was that long we would not have attempted the hike with a 2 and 9 year old. With that being said, we did do it and I will do it again.
I carried Finnley 5 of those 7 miles on my back. She walked the stairs up and the steepest part of the last mile. The kid slept all the way down. Can you blame her? The girls were so dirty. Cory and I were dirty too. You might want to bring bug spray, sun screen, and wear good shoes.
Overall the hike is a must if your are physically fit enough to climb steep terrain, climb about 200 stairs (I'm guessing but there are a lot of stairs), carry a back pack, and have great balance. There are no bathrooms on the trail. At the staging park there is one--go before you go on the hike. Take plenty of water. They have a strict NO DOG policy too. The trail is wide in the beginning but narrows as you climb the last mile.
The view is worth the hike. GO! Get out there and test your limits. Push yourself. These two little girls did!
There is a back way that allows you to park closer to the top and hike about 1/2 a mile. We met several families doing this route at the top. Next time we might drive around to this site to check it out. FYI: this option is closed from January to July.
I can't wait to hike this trail system again! You can see from the smiles that life is good. Isabella got a blister but she wants to go back and hike the trail again.