10 min
Overview
The northernmost stretch of the Oregon Dunes, the largest area of sandunes on the North American continent, is just north of Florence. Here, Sutton Creek meanders through thickly vegetated older dunes before reaching a deflation zone and foredune area and then the Pacific Ocean. Two connected loops take you through this landscape dominated by shore pine and Sitka spruce, and you’re never far from Sutton Creek. The creek and nearby lake are named after Orrin Sutton, a homesteader in the area. Take the paved trail to the right of the restrooms: this path leads out to the Holman Vista. You’ll hike through a thicket of salal, waxmyrtle, and silktassel under contorted, windswept Sitka spruce. The silk tassel (Garrya elliptica) blooms here in winter displaying pendulous chains of flowers all around the parking area. Reach a viewing platform that looks over Sutton Creek to the oceanfront dunes. Looking north, there are seasonal lakes, the low profile of Cape Mountain, and Sea Lion Point. (You should be able to make out the entrance building to the Sea Lion Caves.) The platform is named after C.D. (Dave) Holman, editor and publisher of the Siuslaw News and a tireless advocate for conservation of the Oregon Dunes. Return to the parking area, and take the trail leading out from the northwest corner of the lot. Immediately, you’ll come to a junction. Going left takes you down to a ford of Sutton Creek and then out across the dunes to Baker Beach. To continue on the loop, keep right, and hike up a thickly vegetated dune playing host to gnarled Sitka spruce festooned with leathery polypody ferns. Hike through an understory of waxmyrtle, salal, evergreen huckleberry, and silktassel. At a break in the vegetation, get a view north to the deflation zone colonized by shore pines and a depression which becomes seasonal lake. A spur left leads to a view over Sutton Creek to a stand of alders. More rhododendrons, which bloom here in May, enter the mix as you switchback up another forested dune shaded by shore pines. A viewpoint
Trail Stats
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50 m
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Photos
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