Neahkahnie Mountain Loop Hike

Overview

NOTICE: The section of trail between the North Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead and the Neahkahnie Mountain Viewpoint has been closed since September 2020 due to considerable blowdown from a windstorm. You can still access the viewpoint from the South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead. Check the Oswald West State Park webpage for updates. The Oregon Coast Trail crosses Neahkahnie Mountain from Short Sand Beach and descends to Manzanita. This hike, mostly within the boundaries of Oswald West State Park, takes you from the majestic old growth around Necarney Creek to the clifftop views of the Devils Cauldron; then you cross meadows frequented by elk to hike up Neahkahnie Mountain to a spectacular viewpoint. You'll descend to the South Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead. From there, there's a mile and a half of road walking, including a mile and a quarter along the shoulder of busy Highway 101 (There is a path - sort of - for pedestrians), but the scenic views make the loop worthwhile. A shorter version of this loop, which knocks 2.6 miles off the total, begins at the North Neahkahnie Mountain Trailhead. From the south end of the parking lot, switchback down under large Sitka spruce and western hemlock. The lush understory is composed of sword fern, salmonberry, salal and red huckleberry. At a wide trail, go left and head down Necarney Creek, which runs along bedrock here in a rich, old-growth forest. Keep left at two junctions. Huge spruces sprout leathery polypody ferns. At the Oregon Coast-Necarney Creek Trail Junction, signed for the Elk Meadow Trail, go left; there’s an eight-foot in diameter spruce on your right. Cross a narrow, swinging footbridge over the creek and come to a junction. There is access to Short Sand Beach to the right, but head up to the left for the Elk Flats Trail (also the Oregon Coast Trail). Switchback and traverse up along a deer fern-lined trail. You can walk under the roots or around a spruce that straddles the trail here. Switchback three more times on a rooty trail. The trail levels and the

Trail Stats

Photos

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400px-NeahkahnieMountainLoopMap

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250px-Short_Sand_Creek%2C_Oswald_West_State_Park

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250px-Highway_101%2C_Neahkanie_Mountain

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250px-NthNeahkahnie3

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400px-NeahkahnieVP1

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TKO put tools to trail here.png

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