Whalehead Beach to Indian Sands

Whalehead Beach and Whalehead Cape in the distance.

My body and spirit were calling for a good workout this morning. The weather is fabulous -- warm and sunny and perfect. I opted for a hike that's close to home, since I had other things to do today. I'd intended to walk all the way from Whalehead Beach to the Thomas Creek Bridge, which would have been a round trip of a little over 5.5 miles, but once I set out I knew I was too lazy for that one, so I decided to go as far as Indian Sands, a round trip of around 3 miles. Nobody seems to know when the name Whalehead originated, but it has apparently been in use since the pioneer days. Whalehead Island is hollow to seaward and has a hole in the top. At just the right tides, water surges into the cavity and spouts out the top and is said to resemble a whale in those moments.

I never really know what to expect when I head off on the Coast Trail, but I've never been disappointed with what I find. In this instance, the trail led sharply uphill for awhile before reaching a lovely viewpoint, above. There are plenty of long uphill stretches in this first portion of the hike, which William Sullivan says is only a half mile. I'm sure he's correct, but because of all the long up and down stretches, it feels a lot longer! Great to get the body warm and the heart racing, however. At the half mile point the trail reaches and parallels the highway for a short distance, just long enough to bypass a deep, steep chasm. After that, the terrain is comfortable, with gentle ups and downs, passing through a lovely forest and paralleling a small creek for awhile, before reaching Indian Sands.

Views along this section were also lovely. Hidden coves abound along this coast.

This plaque was atop a mass of concrete at the above viewpoint. I love the wording on it. You can click on the photo to enlarge and read, but this is what it says:

Stan the Man
Husband, Dad, Granddad
A
Hard Worker Who
Loved and Cared for
Everyone

6-20-27

Went Flying
5-6-09

I'm guessing this mass of concrete contains his ashes. What a lovely tribute!

Indian Sands is an interesting place. I couldn't find any information regarding the origin of that name, but I'm sure it would be interesting. The Coast Trail skirts the edge of it along the forest, but the sandy bluff is huge and offers expansive views. I hiked around for awhile, following the path of deer and other smaller critters. I gravitated towards this rocky outcropping with the natural bridge on the left. You may need to click on the photo in order to enlarge and see that it really is an opening, not just a small inlet. This bluff is hilly, and walking uphill in loose sand is great for the legs and heart. After satisfying all my curiosity, I headed back to my car. All in all the trip took about two hours -- a perfect start to my day.

Thomas Creek Bridge -- in the Sunshine!

Since this morning dawned bright and clear and I had itchy feet, I decided to give this trail another try. The first attempt back in May was thick with fog, and while those photos had a certain charm, I also knew there were some fabulous views just waiting to be seen on the big bluff. As you can see, I was right! This photo is of China Beach, also the subject of a previous post and only reachable by a steep trail that travels three-quarters of a mile downhill through the forest. Beautiful -- and well worth the effort. By the way, the name of this post is something of a misnomer -- I did not actually hike to the Bridge nor is there a photo here of the bridge. When I first tried this hike, the effort was to find a good viewpoint of the Bridge, which really never happened. I could see the Bridge at one point today, but turns out that it's really not all that exciting to look at -- it's just high. So, go with it!

This is the starting point, and if you blink you'll miss it. Look on the north side of the Thomas Creek Bridge for a wide pull-out. I don't believe it has any signs ahead of time and this sign is shaded. Walk into the forest a short distance and the trail will fork. You'll want to bear left at this point. The other trail is the one that leads to China Beach, and it's not very obvious. You're likely to miss that one if you blink, too!

After a short walk through the forest you will emerge onto this large meadow. Last time I was here, it was filled with blue iris. The bluff in the distance is your goal here, and the trail will lead you there. Just be careful when you reach an intersection and the trail takes a hard left. You want to continue on towards the bluff, not take this left trail which leads to the bridge right back at the highway. If you want to see the bridge, it's easier to just walk down the highway from where you park your car. The wind out here was really strong -- these bluffs tend to be that way!

Once you get to the bluff, this is what first greets your senses (unless you bear right on the loop, in which case you'll see China Beach first). There are no safety rails here, no barriers of any kind between you and -- the rocks below. I'm not normally uncomfortable with heights, but I have to admit that being this close to the edge, on rough ground in high winds, made me just a teensy bit nervous. Not a place to lose your balance -- or drop your camera! I guess it's obvious, but this view is to the south.

I wonder if that tiny little beach down there has ever seen a human footprint? Would be awfully hard to get to!

I just love the character of this bent, twisted and knarly tree that clings right to the side of the cliff.

Isn't this a beautiful place? And almost hidden.

To reach the northern view, over China Beach, you walk through this leafy, shady arbor that seems almost out of place on this worn, windy bluff.

Did I mention that it's a long way down and that there might be a few rocks?

And did I mention that the winds tend to be a bit strong out there?

All in all, this was a quick and beautiful hike that almost anyone without physical disabilities could accomplish. The bluff is actually fairly dangerous, with all the sheer cliffs with no barriers of any kind, so perhaps it's not a place to take your kids. The trail tends to be narrow and a bit rough, but again, doable for most people. The walk to the bluff probably takes no more than 15 minutes, unless you dawdle as I do.

China Beach

With the day dawning bright and shiny and fog-free, I once more attempted to find the trail to China Beach, in Samuel Boardman State Park. I'd studied the map and also notes from Sullivan's Oregon Coast Hikes book, but all were fairly vague and I knew that no matter what, this would be a steep trail. I really didn't know what I was getting into, but I really didn't care. I love poking around trails and seeing where they lead. This was my reward.

I found it interesting that Sullivan characterized this trail as a short hike from the highway. That's a fair description, as far as it goes. At .7 mile each way, it's not a long hike, but with about 345 feet of elevation change over that distance, it is very steep in places with some nasty switchbacks and lots of slippery gravel of the kind that makes me nervous on descents. Not a trail for the inexperienced or out-of-condition hiker, in my opinion. And there's the return trip UP those 345 feet! Beautiful, however, and yes, the reward for my efforts was great.

This shot from near the top of the last ridge, near the highway, shows just how far away that ocean is!

Like all the trails in this area, the scenery is magnificent -- often dark and feeling rather like the forest primeval, other times sun-filtered and equally magical.

Hard to describe the feeling of emerging from the forest to be met with this!

The trail follows this wash up to and across the ridge in the distance, then on to one more ridge before reaching the highway.

This is what it's all about -- impossibly blue water, gentle surf washing ashore, cliffs and rocks and nesting seabirds -- and not another human in sight. Works for me! All in all, with all my wandering on the beach and stopping for photos, the hike took 1 hour and 45 minutes and was not particularly tiring. In fact, I felt great afterwards!

Sun and Fog

I set out this morning in search of a good view of the Thomas Creek Bridge (the highest in Oregon) as well as a portion of the Oregon Coast Trail that supposedly leads down the cliff to China Beach, which appears to be long and broad and lovely. Yes, the fog was just burning off but I had faith that by the time I arrived, I'd have great views. Not so! I had a lovely walk through woods and meadows and reached the bridge (which, in all honesty, I could have reached in 5 minutes by walking down the highway from my car, but that would take away all the fun and I was frankly disappointed to end up right beside the highway. I'd hoped to find myself nearer the bottom, with a more spectacular view). Unfortunately this is all I could see of it. It's not a very long bridge, but at 345 feet above the water, it's impressive. I'm still in search of a way to get to the base of it, but there is time for that.

The trail branched off often and disappeared often and there are no signs, so while I came to some high bluffs that must surely have spectacular views, including one point where the trail stopped almost without warning at the edge of a steep bluff, I only glimpsed water and surf once. Even though the sun broke through in rays here and there, none of it penetrated the coast or the water below, for the most part. More wild iris than I think I've ever seen in one place inhabited the meadows here in great numbers.

All in all, I must have walked for about an hour and never found a trail that might lead to the beach. But -- just as I neared the parking lot upon my return to my car I saw that a trail branched off to the right and that one has good potential for reaching China Beach. I didn't follow it because by now, Mother Nature had made it clear that she was in no hurry to lift the fog from the coastal views and beaches I sought. It was a lovely walk, nevertheless. Here are a few more photos.

This is my favorite of the bunch, and it's right off the highway.

This one, I believe, was just beyond the bridge.

This one is way out on the edge of a high bluff and looks more as if it belongs in the deep south than the southern Oregon Coast!

One thing I learned from this morning's adventure is that one should never assume Mother Nature is going to cooperate fully in the time frame you expect. In the future, I'll not only check the port webcam, but I'll actually pay attention to what it shows me. What a concept! Lovely, lovely, walk -- even without seeing the water.

Natural Bridges Cove Hike

I headed north out of town this morning with no pre-conceived agenda other than finding a place to put my feet upon a beach. That's not as easy to come by on this stretch of rocky coastline as it might sound and after passing viewpoint after viewpoint I turned into a parking lot to turn around, and got a little sidetracked by this sign. I didn't know where it would take me, but I wanted to find out.

And off to the left, this one. I'd stumbled onto a section of the Oregon Coast Trail and itched to follow where it led. I was a little stunned by the almost rain-forest-like lushness I found as I ventured off the highway.

This vista of Natural Bridges Cove awaits with a nice viewing platform not far from the parking lot, but the trail continues onward and so did I. As you can see, the day was a bit cloudy, but not unpleasant.

This trail was beautiful! I'm a hiker who hasn't been on a trail in probably two years and my feet and soul ate this right up. Meandering up and down gentle rises, around rocks and past small coves and inlets that can absolutely only be seen from the trail -- fabulous! I don't know much about the Oregon Coast Trail, but I intend to learn more and follow as much as I can. I found good information and maps on the official Oregon Coast Trail state site, which also offers maps and info on the Samuel Boardman Park.

I must have walked about a mile before I turned back towards my car, sometimes deep inside the lush forest, sometimes in open meadows alongside the highway but always wrapped in nature. As always, I was a bit enthralled with the wildflowers....

And the lush flora....



And of course, the expansive views of the coast near where I reversed my path back to my car. I would have walked more, but the trail seemed to disappear near the highway or perhaps I just didn't want to look for it. I'd had a good hike and didn't mind returning home now.

North end of China Beach -- how to reach?

I never did get my feet upon a beach today, but there's always tomorrow.