It's About the (RV) Journey....: Ecola State Park........

A very popular and scenic spot to visit in Cannon Beach is Ecola State Park. It has gorgeous views, picnic spots and hiking trails to explore. For more information, click here. We had a nice sunny day as we headed out to explore the park.

There are two main areas in the park: Ecola Point and Indian Beach. We started our day at Ecola Point, where we had planned on a hike to a view of Tillamook Lighthouse. The trail was really nice...through old growth temperate rain forest. The trail went mostly up, so we knew we would be in for a good viewpoint. Too good actually.

Ecola Point

trailhead...watch out for cougars!

the terrain immediately changes

its a magical forest

with lots of height to be gained

lots of giant ferns and giant trees

still going up

The trail goes up and up; sometimes there are stairs and sometimes there are switchbacks, but it is all up. A viewpoint along the way gives a taste of what we will see. The fence could use some repair. A small child could really be lost through that gaping hole in the fence! Its a long way down.

view of the beach below

gorgeous

pretty rocks with fog moving in

that's one giant tree

its how old?

peeking through for more views

there are lots of nice views from this trail

enjoying the trek

still going up

lots of roots so you gotta watch your step!

don't want to trip near an edge!

Tillamook Lighthouse

Unfortunately, I lost my nerve rounding a corner, and we decided to head back down. The view of the lighthouse was perfect from there, and we did not want to tempt fate and have me "freeze" on the side of the cliff. The views from where we stood were great! Besides, its was getting to be near lunchtime:)

the end of the hike for me:(

gorgeous views

close up

Heading back down the trail, we enjoyed the beauty of it once again. Sometimes that's what's really nice about an out and back trail...you get to appreciate the views twice, and, things look different coming and going. Just sayin'.

heading back now

its a lot easier going down!

great rays of light shining in this magical forest

heading back

love the moss and sweet flowers

such tall trees

the roots are as tall as Tom!

views are great from the trail

watch your step!

cool trees

again, the views from the trail are priceless

heading down the switchbacks

that was pretty steep!

way easier going down

Hmmm, the viewpoint had some picnic tables nearby. Perfect! We were ready for a little lunch and couldn't think of a better place to have it. When we were taking our pictures at the lookout area, we noticed someone climbing up the hill. It was awfully steep, and looked pretty slippery, so we were hoping nothing happened to that ~~idiot~~ person.

look...picnic tables at the lookout

great views

maybe we'll check out the beach later?

close up...very cool

WHAT are you thinking?????

see her down there?

Our lunch spot was just perfect, and was the best place to look for gray whales. No luck. I think we saw the last of the migration last week. Mustn't be greedy now! The view was really nice!

great lunch spot

picture perfect

We moved on the the other section of the park, Indian Beach, and started up the Clatsop Loop Trail. The signs here in Oregon have been so confusing for us. We saw the trailhead sign for Clatsop, but then what was the Lighthouse View? Turns out, that is the other side of the loop and we could have gone up that way instead. No worries. We did the whole loop, though I think we did it the hard way. Haha. (My fitbit logged 117 flights)! The total elevation gain was 700 or 800 feet, depending on where you read about the trail description.

heading out on another hike

what?

sweet

this trail is gravel....all the way to the Hiker's camp....so its accessible (I don't know..its pretty steep)!!

nice through the forest

tons of moss

catching my breath-ugh

its a huge hill

fungus

nice bench for a rest

or to check out the fitbit flights

you can do it Susie!

The hiker's camp was interesting, and in pretty good shape. The Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) hikers use this as an overnight. Much nicer than some of the hiking camps we've seen on the Appalachian Trail.

one of the hiker's cabins

4 bunks

the site is in pretty good shape

Once at the Hiker's camp, there is a viewpoint of the Tillamook Lighthouse not too far off the trail. We got to the overlook only to watch the fog descend! Not a very good view. We waited for a few minutes to see if the fog would move out, which it did a bit, but not enough.

heading down to the Tillamook Lighthouse viewpoint

nice forest walk

a bit of mud

oops...another little obstacle

here's the viewpoint! FOGGED IN!

can't see a thing

wait..its clearing a bit

heading back up to the trail

wait....its so muddy at the end there

Soon we were starting on the trek back, which was a much nicer hike through the forest. It was more interesting, and had the great water views as well. Some of it was a little steep, and really, sometimes its easier going up then going down. I know! Hard to believe!

this part of the trail is really nice too

a bit of mud to watch out for

very interesting trees

fog drifting through the forest

woah

Captain Clark and his contingent, including Sacajawea, traveled this way in search of a beached whale (Indian name=Ecola). I'm sure they didn't have the nice trail we had though. I thought of them when I was huffing and puffing up the hills. (I am a wimp)!

views are great

nice color in the forest

getting edge-y

trail is in pretty good shape

view

back to the shade

We encountered mud at a few places, which just makes things really slippery. I was SOOO glad I did not wipe out. It was pretty slick!!

more mud! watch your step!

a bit muddy

big time mud

great views

Terrible Tilly....the fog lifted a bit from the time we were at the upper viewpoint

love the trees!

At some points it was a bit edge-y, but I am trying to do better with my height issue. I've come a long way...but still have a ways to go.

almost back

doing good!

almost back now?

Towards the end of the trail is a great view of the beach, very popular with surfers. We watched a couple of them for a little bit, before they rode the waves into the beach. It was getting late in the day.

a viewpoint towards the end of the trail

awesome

surfer Joe

how pretty is that?

time to check out the beach

We went down to the beach for a few minutes to enjoy the watching the waves crash. The ocean is so powerful, and its not hard to imagine the influence of the water crashing on the rocks and carving out arches and caves.