1 min
Overview
At 154 feet in height and almost 50 feet in circumference, Rockaway Beach’s magnificent old cedar resides amid a tiny remnant of old-growth coastal bog among other large Sitka spruce and western red-cedar trees. Along this developed stretch of coastline, it’s a surprise to explore the dark interior of such a primeval swamp, the 45 boggy acres of the Old Growth Cedar Preserve. The tree and the bog are now accessed by a universal access raised boardwalk, opened in June 2019, that is half a mile long. You return via a short (and optional) loop from the old cedar that tunnels through the salal on a rough, rooty, squishy tread that treats you to close encounters with the Saltair Creek Marsh (hiking boots, not tennis shoes, recommended for this part). The boardwalk begins from the trailhead on Highway 101, right at the welcome sign for Rockaway Beach. You'll proceed through a dense thicket of willow, with alder, hemlock, and a few Sitka spruce towering higher. Skunk-cabbage festoons the small open area in the marsh. Salal, salmonberry, and coast sedge form an undergrowth. Stark skeletons of deceased spruce jut skyward. At a junction, bear right over more marshland to pass into a dense, shady woodland where cedars become more prevalent. Evergreen huckleberry and red huckleberry can be found here. You'll pass a couple of large spruce trees and an even bigger stump to cross a high bridge over a depression. Soon reach the new platform around the Rockaway Cedar, one of Oregon’s biggest trees in terms of sheer mass and, with its gnarly bark and contorted trunk, one of the most personable at an estimated 500-900 years old. Look up and note the hemlocks that sprouted high above and sent their roots down through the tree’s rotten core. The platform here was constructed to avoid soil compaction, so please stay on it. There's a picnic table for a convenient snack break. You can acquire a closer experience of Saltair Creek’s soggy bottomland by taking the steps down on the other side of the old cedar. This narrow trail wind
Trail Stats
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Photos
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