5 min
Overview
The 365 acre Sitka Sedge State Natural Area was officially opened to the public in June 2018. Originally part of a farm where cattle were grazed, this expanse of wetland, mud flats, and dunes was purchased by wealthy investors who hoped to create an elite golf course here, one of those that require a $25,000 or so annual membership. Local and environmental groups mounted a decade-long opposition to the proposal, and eventually the investors sold out to Ecotrust, a West Coast group committed to environmental and social change. The land was then purchased through an agreement with the State of Oregon using lottery funds. The trail network here begins with a walk along a farm dike, and then involves two short loops through a vegetated dunescape with access both to the shallow Sand Lake Estuary and the beach north of Tierra del Mar (see the Sand Lake-Cape Kiwanda Hike). The state park is named after Carex aquatilis var. dives, which is also common in the Cascades. Elk graze on Sitka sedge as do cattle. The juicy bases of the stems were consumed by Native Americans, who also used the tough leaves in basket making. However, the most common sedge in the park is probably the slough sedge (Carex obnupta), which dominates up and down the Coast and in the western Oregon lowlands. The ADA-accessible half-mile Beltz Dike Trail begins behind the information kiosk, which displays a large map showing the trail system. You’re hiking along a dike built in the 1920s. To your left are freshwater wetlands where Reneke and Beltz Creeks run into the Sand Lake Estuary. The dike effectively shut off saltwater tide flows into this area, and allowed Farmer Beltz to establish wet meadows for grazing cattle. The two tide gates are now deteriorating and are no longer functioning as they were intended, so salt marsh plants are beginning to establish themselves once again. Red alder and Sitka spruce shade the trail in places, and elderberry, salal, evergreen huckleberry, black twinberry, evergreen blackberry, and western spiraea form thick
Trail Stats
0.0 km
24 m
13 m
0 m
—
Photos
400px-SitkaSedgeLoopMap2
400px-SitkaSedgeLoopMap2
160px-Dune_goldenrod_%28Solidago_simplex
160px-Dune_goldenrod_%28Solidago_simplex
250px-View_to_Cape_Lookout%2C_Estuary_View_Loop%2C_Sitka_Sedge_SNA
250px-View_to_Cape_Lookout%2C_Estuary_View_Loop%2C_Sitka_Sedge_SNA
250px-Shore_pine_woods%2C_Estuary_View_Loop%2C_Sitka_Sedge_SNA
250px-Shore_pine_woods%2C_Estuary_View_Loop%2C_Sitka_Sedge_SNA
250px-Western_spiraea_%28Spiraea_douglasii%29%2C_Beltz_Dike%2C_Sitka_Sedge_SNA
250px-Western_spiraea_%28Spiraea_douglasii%29%2C_Beltz_Dike%2C_Sitka_Sedge_SNA
400px-Beltz_Creek_Wetland%2C_Beltz_Dike%2C_Sitka_Sedge_SNA
400px-Beltz_Creek_Wetland%2C_Beltz_Dike%2C_Sitka_Sedge_SNA
TKO put tools to trail here.png
TKO put tools to trail here.png