34 min
Overview
This walk brings together two distinct ecosystems: the swampy bottomlands of a coastal creek and a forested ridge of venerable Sitka spruce; there's also the option of heading out to the beach. The north end of the unfinished Ocean to Bay Trail in Newport is at the Agate Beach parking area. From here, a path leads inland under Highway 101 and then takes a series of boardwalks through the Big Creek bottomlands. After reaching Big Creek Park, you can take an old road track up and then down in a lush, mossy Sitka spruce forest, part of Newport’s 96-acre Forest Park, established in 2012 in a partnership between the City of Newport and the Oregon Coast Community Forest Association. You can begin the hike just south of the restrooms at the Agate Beach Trailhead. A footbridge takes you over Big Creek and then you head inland through a veritable tunnel of shore pine, Sitka spruce, and salad. At the west end of the large parking area, a signboard displays a map and information about the Ocean to Bay Trail. Continue past the sign and through a tunnel under Highway 101. At a flight of steps, the graveled tread veers right and parallels 101 but about 20 feet below it. Hike along in red alder, Sitka spruce, Douglas-fir, elderberry forest above a swampy bottomland. Sword fern and lady fern are abundant. There are many interpretive signs telling about the plants. Cross Big Creek and use a boardwalk (take care - the boardwalks can be slippery in wet weather). The bottomland blooms with skunk-cabbage in the spring. You are likely to come across deer and woodpeckers as you hike this trail. Reach a larger boardwalk above a prairie cord grass (Spartina) swamp. There are more boardwalks, and you recross Big Creek several times. Reach an alder grove as you hike along the north bank. Boardwalk is interspersed with gravel tread, and at the end of the last wood section, it is announced "Dr. Beemer's Last Board 2005." Arrive at N.E. Harney Street and go right. Immediately, turn right again on Big Creek Road. Cross Big Creek and go le
Trail Stats
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170 m
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Photos
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