Kilchis Point Loop Hike

Overview

The Tillamook County Pioneer Museum operates this expanse of wetland near Kilchis Point in Bay City. There are two short interpretive loops and then a half-mile spur that leads to Kilchis Flat on Tillamook Bay. Aside from the typical coastal wetland habitats dominated by slough sedge, red alder, and Sitka spruce, you can look across Tillamook Bay and, at low tide, spot hundreds of wading birds foraging in the mud flats. The interpretive signs reveal the history of the area: this was the site of the north coast’s biggest native village; early settlers settled among the natives and attempted farming; a timber company operated here for a few years, using a railroad spur to carry logs out to the bay, whence they were floated across to the mill at Garibaldi. As of early 2015, all the trails were complete, but on some, the final surfacing had not yet taken place. Walk past the picnic tables and information kiosk, where you might be able to pick up a trail brochure, and pass through the native plant garden. On a paved trail, cross a footbridge in a wetland of alder and willow. Read interpretive signs about Chief Kilchis of the Tillamook tribe and early settler land claims resulting from the Donation Land Act of 1850. A junction with a salmon sculpture marks the beginning connector to the second loop, so keep right in a thicket of elderberry before entering an alder/Sitka spruce/slough sedge wetland. Use a boardwalk, after which the trail becomes compacted gravel. Wind through a carpet of salal and reach the beginning of the Flora and Fauna Trail. Go right here. There are many interpretive signs about the natural history of the area on this loop. Hike through a carpet of sword fern and, after a boardwalk, enter a salmonberry thicket. The trail winds along under spruce, hemlock, cedar, and alder before reaching the junction with the Pioneer Trail, where there’s a detailed map of the trail system. Go right here and cross Doty Creek on a footbridge. Look left to see a railroad trestle: the spur line here once carried

Trail Stats

Photos

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