Gear Trip #2 Seaside to Cannon Beach Day Hike (20 miles RT)

Via Tillamook Head/Indian Creek Beach/Ecola Point on the Oregon Coast Trail

This was going to be an overnight trip but turned into a long day hike for schedule reasons. Joel couldn't make it after working late the night before. Jeremy and I started at the trail head in south Seaside just off Sunset Blvd at around 9:30am and finished at 7pm. We took two long breaks and a few short ones to eat snacks and take images.

I carried my new pack and 20 lbs to make sure it fit right and to check the hip belt comfort level. Also wanted to do an extended trip to verify the new Columbia Firelane Mid X hiking shoes would work well. Overall had no equipment or foot issues which is a huge relief.

You go up and over the headland pretty quickly the first two miles climbing to 1,200ft from sea level. The backside is a gentle slope at times through some amazing old growth and spectacular views along the cliff edge. It was very muddy at times from recent rains. We reached a State park managed hiker camp at 4.4 miles from where we connected with the Clatsop Loop trail. It goes down to Indian Creek headland and then down to the actual Indian Creek Beach (1.5 miles) where we had lunch. I cooked up some Top Ramen on my stove and fended off the seagulls going for my chips. We went up to the parking lot there and caught the Ecola Point trail to rejoin the Oregon Coast Trail (1.4 miles) at the next parking lot. This portion of the OCT connects up with Ecola Road which we then walked down into central Cannon Beach (about 2.5 miles.)

Actually one of the coolest parts of the trip was walking in downtown Cannon Beach with our backpacks to Bill's Pub & Brewery. We tried a couple different pint beers and ate a full plate of beer battered onion rings before heading back out to Seaside. It was almost 3pm and our goal was to make it back to the car by 7pm and then find a restaurant in Seaside for some good grub. We really hoofed it going back and didn't stop much. By the way, Bigfoot Steakhouse in south Seaside on Hwy 101 has very good food!

I recommend this hike for the spectacular headland views and the rare, pristine old growth forest. Bring your mudders. Overall a pretty awesome hike!