Last week it was hot here in the Portland area, upper 90's. So we decided a trip to the beach was in order, we needed a hike and it was cooler there. We've been to Oswald West State Park and wanted to go there again and take the trail to Cape Falcon. We try to go on these adventures during the week, less traffic, less people on the trails and easier to find parking. Our timing was perfect for this trip, just before school let out for the majority of Portland. Our trip turned out great.
The beach at Oswald West is called Short Sand Beach and when the tide is all the way in, there's not much of a beach left to walk on. Today we hit it as the tide was on it's way out. By the time we got back from Cape Falcon it was low tide. It's not often that we randomly decided to go to the beach and have the tides work in out favor.
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| looking south on Short Sand Beach |
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| looking north-Cape Falcon at the far left |
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| The view south at Cape Falcon |
The 2.5 mile Cape Falcon Trail begins at the northwest parking lot along Highway 101. First head towards Short Sand Beach then follow the signs to the Kramer Memorial and there will be signs directing you to Cape Falcon. The trail is easy to travel, there are no technical rocks or logs or hills to climb. You do go up in elevation and there are tree roots that you need to step over. And I suppose in wetter conditions there would be mud to negotiate. But today there wasn't much mud, just around the creeks. I would wear sturdy shoes or hiking boots. I did see some people in flip flops and on their return trip to Short Sand Beach their feet had some minor lacerations so flip flops would not be a good choice. I'm told that on a clear day at Cape Falcon you can see north all the way to Tillamook Head and south to Cape Lookout. There are no signs saying you have arrived to an official place called Cape Falcon. It's just a saddle that sticks out into the ocean covered with salal, and has many trails cut through it with great views.
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on the trail
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Evidence we were there
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| Ferns and shamrocks everywhere |
The hike was nice and it was great to get back to the beach at low tide. We checked out the tide pools at the north end of the beach. There was a lot to see: starfish, anemones, crabs, mussels, barnacles, snails, small fish, a few small caves.
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| Starfish at the tide pools |
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| Creek on the way back to the parking lot |
It is a great place to visit if you are in the area and hopefully you'll find yourself on the beach at low tide!
