Salishan Spit Hike

Overview

Most of Salishan Spit is privately owned and the property of the Salishan Spa & Golf Resort. Visitors can walk the area after parking at the Salishan Shops, but for a pure beach hike, begin at the Gleneden Beach State Recreation Site. You'll get views north to Cascade Head and the chance of seeing seals, sea lions, and various sea birds in the surf. You cannot leave the beach until you pass the last houses and there is only a short walk on the bay side of the spit. The tip of the spit is the property of another mammal: harbor seals haul themselves out here for a rest. Do not get too close and keep your dog under control. From the north side of the parking area, walk down a paved trail through a shore pine shaded gully to the beach. Head north on the beach: at low tide try to keep close to the water as the sand is very soft higher on the beach. Large houses dominate a mudstone bluff: these are on Salishan Spa property and all would be wiped off the sand dunes in the event of a big tsunami. Cascade Head juts out on the northern horizon. In places, the beach slopes more steeply. Pass a few spruce-topped knolls and then reach the area of the spit where a dune-grass bolstered low bluff hosts more homes and cottages. Driftwood is piled against the bluff. You may find kelp knots, broken mussels, small jellyfish, clam shells and shards of crab shell littered at the high tide mark. As you near the north end of the spit, there’s a much bigger accumulation of driftwood. Beyond the last house, dunegrass gives way to a narrow, dense thicket of shore pine, spruce, wax-myrtle and salal. Find your way into the center of the spit and encounter a jeep track that leads north to the beach at the Siletz Bay Mouth. Cross to the bay side where the thicket of spruce and pine comes right to the shore line. Then hike up towards the tip of the spit. Look for the basking harbor seals, which laze on the bay side of the spit point. Keep your distance and do not scare them into entering the water. Stroll back around the driftwood littered

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