Harts Cove

Because it's Valentines Day today, I thought I would tell you about a hike to Harts Cove. The previous hikes I wrote about were just a warm up for the hike on Nature Conservancy land at Cascade Head. We suggest the most rewarding of the hikes to Hearts Cove. This trail from the summit is a Forest Service trailhead and is closed from January to mid-July to protect wildlife.

Head out to highway 101 and south. You will drive through the town of Neskowin and head up the hill to the summit of Cascade Head. At the summit, pull off into the parking area on the right for Cascade Head Road 1861. After 3.3 miles, a guardrail on the left marks the easy, upper trailhead to the Nature Conservancy preserve on Cascade Head. Pass that by and drive an extra 0.8-mile to a parking lot at road's end.

Harts Cove is a 5.4-mile hike down 900 feet of elevation, one-way. They say it’s a moderate hike, it is going down hill. The return trip is a little more difficult. You will hike down a switch-backing trail through a hemlock forest and a footbridge over Cliff Creek. Then it’s Sitka spruce and hemlock giants to a bench that offers a glimpse ahead to Harts Cove's headland. Continue on the main trail, cross a bridge over Chitwood Creek to the headland's fabulously scenic meadow. Take the leftmost of several paths down the grassy bluff to find a cliff-edge viewpoint overlooking Harts Cove and Chitwood Creek's waterfall. To reach the shore, climb back up from this viewpoint 50 yards to a junction and head seaward. A scramble trail descends to the lava rock edge of the headland, where deep water gently rises and falls, exposing a bathtub ring of barnacles, starfish, and sea palms.



Cascade Head information:
Cascade Head is the tip of a 300-mile-long Columbia River basalt lava flow that erupted near Idaho about 15 million years ago and puddled up at the seashore here. The panoramic bluff-top wildflower meadows were threatened by commercial development in the 1960s, but fans of the wild headland rallied to purchase the fragile area and donate it to the non-profit Nature Conservancy for preservation. Ironically, the impact of up to 10,000 nature-loving visitors a year now threatens the meadows' ecology. As a result, two of the trailheads are closed for six months of each year, pets are banned, and hikers are urged to stay on existing trails. Flower picking, hunting, camping, fires, bicycles, and dogs are banned at Cascade Head. The easy, upper trailhead to the headland meadows is closed six months of the year to protect threatened Oregon silver spot butterfly caterpillars. Even if you hike here from the lower trailhead (open all year), please stay on the trail. Even spreading out a picnic may inadvertently trample the meadow's rare checker mallows, 5-petaled pink wildflowers, or the violets that serve as food for the rare caterpillars. In summer expect white yarrow, plumes of goldenrod, tall pink foxglove, and Indian paintbrush.

Head back to 101 north to Pacific City and The Craftsman B&B.  The hot tub will be ready for your weary body.  I'll peek over the edge to make sure you are doing OK in the tub, don't worry, I won't jump in, I don't like water.

Three Capes Scenic Loop

When you come to Pacific City on the Oregon Coast and stay at The Craftsman B&B and are looking for a good day trip, we suggest a drive on the Three Capes Scenic Loop. Start right here at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area. The dorymen launch the boats into the surf at sunrise. Most are back around 11:00 a.m. when the wind starts to pick up. Climb to the top of the dune and watch the boats landing and the surfers surfing.

Head north out of the parking lot and follow the signs to Cape Lookout State Park. At the summit, park and take the 2.4 mile hike out to the end. You will be walking through the center of a rain forest, so make sure you have another pair of shoes, this trail does get muddy and they have placed boardwalks in the bad spots. The views are amazing, so don’t forget the camera. During whale migration, this is a great spot to watch. The beach trail from the summit is for the fittest. A switchback down to a secluded beach, getting back is the hard part.

Head north again out of the lot and follow the road around Netarts Bay. The Schooner, on the north side of the bay is a good spot for lunch, so is Rosanne’s in Oceanside, the next town on the route. In Oceanside, stop at Three Arch Rocks National Bird and Sea Lion Refuge, park and walk out on the beach, bring you binoculars to view the Tufted Puffins and Common Mures nesting on the rocks. At low tide, you can walk through a tunnel to a private beach to the north.

Out of Oceanside and left again to the last cape on the tour, Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint, home to Cape Meares Lighthouse and Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge. If you only get out of the car once, do it here. An easy, wheelchair accessible path guides you down to the lighthouse that is open for tours April through October, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We like to walk along the fence line on the south side on the way back up. Don’t forget to see the Octopus Tree. As with the other capes, this is great for whales, birds and photos. If you get a good one, enter it in their annual contest, click here to see past winners. The forests around the Refuge include massive Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock. 

After taking all this classic Oregon Coast experience take a left on the road, down the hill to the stop sign. The scenic loop says to turn right, but we suggest you turn left into the town of Cape Meares. Follow the road until it ends. Hop out and carefully walk over all the rocks to this hidden gem. The Tillamook Bay Spit is to the North and the ocean side collects a ton of debris after the strong costal storms. The bay side is great for bird watching. During Salmon season, you will see boat after boat trying their luck to catch that 45-pound salmon.

Back track your way back on the scenic drive and follow along the edge of Tillamook Bay into the town of Tillamook. Once on Highway 101, go north if you need an ice cream cone at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. If you need more cheese, stop at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company.

Head south back on Highway 101, passing dairy farms and pastures. Look for the herd of Elk, a few fields past the Air Museum on the east side of the road. Follow 101 all the way back to Pacific City and if you timed it right, there will be cookies waiting for you here at The Craftsman B&B, Oh and I'll be waiting too.

So you want to see the Three Capes but don’t want to drive. You can hike them all. Here’s how.

Nestucca Bay Wildlife Refuge

It's that time of year again.  Every night just after sunset the skies are full of migrating geese.  We have a local gaggle that hang around all year, but now, I'm talking a ton of geese.  They fly over the house, squawking at each other.  That is how they keep in contact in the dark.  They are flying back to  The Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge after a day of flying and munching on their way South for the Winter.  Started in 1991, the refuge provides a sanctuary for a portion of the declining Dusky Canada Goose population and for the endangered Aleutian Cackling Goose. The Refuge has seen many changes over the years, including the recovery of the Aleutian Cackling Goose, Bald Eagle, and Peregrine Falcon, and the restoration of 82 acres of tidal marsh and 50 acres of forest land.  It was just for the birds, but now, they have developed it for people to visit too.

In 2004 the Oregon Dept. of Transportation awarded a grant to the USFWS to design and construct visitor facilities on the Nestucca Bay Refuge. The completed project includes two parking lots; a paved, wheelchair-accessible trail that leads to an elevated viewing deck; road improvements; interpretive panels; and a single vault restroom. The paved Pacific View Trail and Deck, perched atop Cannery Hill, affords visitors a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean, Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge (Haystack Rock at Pacific City), Nestucca Bay Refuge, the Coast Range, and the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, US 101.

Next weekend will be the Grand Opening!  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in partnership with the Pacific City Arts Association, will host a celebration of Wildlife and the Arts on Saturday, Oct.11.

The refuge will open at 9 a.m. Refuge staff will be around until 2:00 p.m. to answer questions and guide you through the area.  This is going to be exciting, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Guided walks around the site will be from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Here is your chance to explore the new Pacific View Trail. 

Beginning at sunrise, the Lincoln City Chapter of the National Audubon Society will sponsor “The Big Sit,” a nationwide bird-a-thon, where the object is to tally as many bird species seen or heard during a 24-hour period while those recording sit in a 17-foot circle.

Here are some events that will take place next door to The Craftsman B&B at the Nestucca Valley Presbyterian Church (if their construction is done in time).  Most likely at The Bible Church next to the Post Office.

Beginning at 2 p.m., Roy Lowe, Project Leader for the Oregon Coast Refuge Complex, will present the “Natural History of Nestucca Bay Refuge." This visual presentation will include an historical background of the new refuge and why it is important to wildlife.

At 3 p.m. Jeni Foster, a lecturer on the Chautauqua circuit, will present “BirdSong: Birds as metaphors in American folk music,” a performance/lecture sponsored by PCAA. Foster will explore the symbolism of birds within the rich heritage of American folk music and illustrate how the dynamic language of metaphor is essential to poets and songwriters.

Numerous galleries, restaurants and businesses throughout Pacific City will be showcasing wildlife works of art. Enjoy touring all of them throughout the day beginning at 11 a.m.

The refuge is located on the west side of Highway 101, approximately six miles south of Pacific City. To visit the refuge, turn west off of Highway 101 onto Christensen Road and proceed a half mile to the parking lot. 

So make a weekend of it.  Stay with me, I don't think I'll ever get to go out to the Refuge, I don't think dogs, especially bird dogs are allowed.