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Neahkahnie Mountain

© Wayne R. Brown

My favorite hike on the Oregon Coast has got to be Neahkahnie Mountain. I first experienced this trek with friends as a teenager. I rediscovered it a few years ago as an adult and, though I have changed somewhat in the intervening years, I still find it to be a place where I can have an enjoyable time, recharge, and forget about life's cares for a little while.

Take highway 101 north out of Tillamook. You'll pass through coastal towns including Bay City, Garibaldi, Rockaway, Wheeler, Nehalem and Manzanita on your 25 mile drive north. North of Manzanita the highway will start to climb. There will be a series of paved viewpoints on your left, overlooking the ocean. A little past these you will see a gravel turnout (again on the left) with a trail marker on the right. This is your starting point. If you cross a bridge and come to Oswald West State Park, you've gone too far.

The trail starts out as a series of switchbacks that traverse a steep meadow dominated mostly by salal. Early on this isn't more than about waist high. Beware some treacherous footing where part of the trail has eroded away. Toward the top, the salal will be over your head and you may have to shoulder your way through one or two stretches (beware of spider webs). On a sunny day, the meadow can be uncomfortabley hot, but the views of the ocean are nice.

Eventually you leave the meadow behind and step into the trees. The trail winds around the side of the mountain a bit and then becomes relatively straight and level. You will find yourself in a peaceful world of tall, stately evergeens and hardy ferns. Stop, relax, breath in the air and listen to the quiet. This is one of the most relaxing places I know.

The trail continues toward the ridgeline. Here you will enounter a graveyard of downed trees through which the trail winds. The odds are pretty good the ground will be muddy here, even in the middle of summer. Pass through another meadow of tall salal and you will find yourself quite suddenly on an exposed flank of the mountain.

The view is breathtaking. There, below you some 1500 feet or so, stretches Neahkahnie beach. Above you is the summit. If you just have to reach the top, you can do so either by clamboring up the rocks or by taking a rough trail that leads up from the saddle. If you aren't quite that adventerous, be content in knowing that the view from the trail is just as good. Take your day pack off, have a snack, take some pictures and enjoy the view. Just be careful. A single step off the trail could mean a very long fall.

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