Cape Lookout Hikes

Hiking to the end of mile-wide Cape Lookout [1] is one of the top coast hikes in Oregon [2]. The trail begins either at the campground, where it climbs 2.5 miles up to a ridge-top trailhead with a parking lot, or from the Three Capes road [3] at a well-signed trailhead. An orientation map at the trailhead details the trail options.

The main 2.5-mile trail out to the land’s end, along the narrowing finger of land, can give hikers the impression that they’re on the prow of a giant ship suspended 500 feet above the ocean on all sides. Here, more than anywhere else on the Oregon coast, you get the sense of being on the edge of the continent. Giant spruce, western red cedars, and hemlocks surround the gently hilly trail to the tip of the cape.

In March, Cape Lookout [1] is a popular vantage point for whale-watching. June through August, a bevy of wildflowers and birds further enhance the rolling terrain en route to the tip of this headland, and in late summer red huckleberries line the path.

Halfway to the overlook, there are views north to Cape Meares [4] over the Netarts sand spit. Even if you settle for a mere 15-minute stroll down the trail, you can look southward to Cascade Head [5]. Right about where the trees open up, look for a bronze plaque, commemorating the crash of a World War II plane and nearly a dozen casualties, which is embedded in the rock wall bordering the right-hand (north) side of the trail at eye level.

If you’re unable to take this hike, two unmarked turnouts along the Three Capes road [3] between the sand dunes and Cape Lookout [1] parking lot let you survey the terrain south to Cape Kiwanda [6]. Don’t be surprised if you see hang gliders and paragliders.

Another popular trail in the state park heads north from the campground through a variety of estuarine habitats along the sand spit separating Netarts Bay from the Pacific. It’s a popular site for agate hunters, clammers, and crabbers.