Coast Range Archives - Trail Scholar

Overview

Enjoy a short hike through shaded Douglas-fir and riparian forests to two delightful waterfalls along the South Fork of the Alsea River and Peak Creek.

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 2.4 miles
Terrane: 300 elevation gain
Open: All year. Best in winter and spring for more dramatic flows.
Trailhead: Alsea Falls Recreation Area Trailhead (44.32586030561114, -123.49103660823984)
Contact: Bureau of Land Management, Salem OR

Highlights

Waterfalls; river and creek access; wildlife potential; shaded forest.

Need to Know

Roads to the trailhead are gravel, but passable with a regular passenger vehicle. Park in the day-use area. There is amply parking here. It costs $3 for day use which is payable by cash or check. A pit toilet is available. Be prepared for little to no cell service during the drive and on the trail.

Hike Description

Alsea Falls

The hike begins at the Alsea Falls Recreation Area. As you make your way toward the river, almost immediately you hit a junction. Take a left here to follow a short path that follows the South Fork to Alsea Falls.

Stop at the first viewpoint along the trail for an up-close look at Alsea. The riverbed has been scoured clear of sediments, exposing slabs of solid bedrock that you can walk out if the flow is low enough.

Continue downstream for a second look at Alsea at a distance. Look for a large log jam just downstream of the viewpoint and falls. Alsea Falls is a natural barrier for fish passage—the large woody debris acts as a marker for the end of salmonid-bearing waters.

Notice the trees and shrubs along the riverbank as you make your way back upstream to where you started. In the fall, look for splashes of color along the shore where deciduous trees and shrubs are more plentiful. Bigleaf maple and vine maple both reach over the banks near Alsea Falls—framing it in bright green or yellow depending on the season.

Turn left when you get to the junction and head over the bridge that spans the South Fork of the Alsea River. Enjoy the unique perspective of the river water as it glides toward the falls as you cross. Shrubs like salmonberry and vine maple, hang over the banks offering forage for beaver and fodder for the aquatic insects and other invertebrates that call the river home. Tall skinny red alder trunks also crowd the banks.

South Fork of the Alsea River from the bridge

Green Peak Falls

On the other side of the bridge take a left at a junction, following the trail into a shaded Douglas-fir Forest toward Green Peak Falls. Mature second-growth Douglas-fir trees can be seen at intervals, while mossy arms of Bigleaf maple reach across the trail from above. Look for large old stumps—a sign of the bygone days of logging in the area.

The trail angles up along a ridge just above the South Fork of the Alsea. Young, scaley-leaved western red cedars grow tucked away among the larger trees. Sword fern and Oregon grape make up much of the understory plants.

A grove of red alder surrounds the boulder-strewn stream at a small turn-off along the trail that leads to the river edge.

A grove of red alder trees along the river

Eventually, the dirt path widens at a campsite with a gravel road heading left. Follow the alder shaded gravel road, watching for trail markers that confirm you are going the correct way. Keep right past two turnoffs, threatening to get you off track.

Soon you will reach a trail junction near a large (often occupied) gravel camping spot on your right. Continue right past the site to rejoin the trail for Green Peak falls on the other side.

Follow the dirt trail that borders Peak Creek, a tributary of the South Fork of the Alsea River, through a stretch of floodplain forest and younger secondary forest.

There are a few spots where hikers can drop down by the creek to enjoy the cool rush of water or look for signs of wildlife. Beaver are known to visit the area, foraging on the cambium of branches of western redcedar and alder that line the banks—a snack shack for beaver. Look for their trademark incisor marks on branches hanging over the water.

Beaver incisor marks on a western redcedar

Next, hike through a section of mature forest, before reaching 50-foot Green Peak Falls as it rushes down a convex rock face. Take the steps down to the base of the falls to get a better look. On a hot summer day, enjoy the cooling effect of the water spray.

If the water is low enough, explore the rocky shores. You may be lucky enough to find a pile of chewed sticks scattered from upstream beaver colonies. Look for macroinvertebrates, like caddisfly, clinging to the rocks.

Having fully explored the stream habitat, return as you came.

Trees scattering the light on Gwenn Creek Trail

Overview

Walk up a ridge through massive old-growth Sitka spruce to a Douglas-fir forest, before gradually descending alongside rushing Gwynn Creek and looping back on the Oregon Coast Trail. This loop highlights the majesty of Oregon’s coastal forests.

Distance: 6.4 miles
Terrane: 1250 elevation gain. Steady incline
Difficulty: Moderate
Open: All year. Best in the winter, spring, fall.
Trailhead: Gwynn Creek/Forest Trails at Cape Perpetua Scenic Area Visitor Center (44.28048, -124.10745)
Contact: U.S. Forest Service, Siuslaw National Forest

Highlights

Dynamic Old-growth forest; lush diverse vegetation; mushroom and wildflowers; well-maintained trail.

Need to Know

Trailhead is located in the Cape Perpetua Scenic Areas Visitor Center parking area (not the day use or campground). USFS Forest Recreation Pass required for parking or equivalent. Restrooms are available at the trailhead with flush toilets. Usage is high near the visitor center. Trailheads and junctions are well marked.

Hike Description

Begin at the trailhead marked “Forested Trails.” Start by following an old logging road .4 miles through Sitka spruce forest with a sword fern and salal understory. Cross over a bridge with alder trees and salmonberry growing in the drainage below before entering an old plantation stand of Sitka spruce.

Many of the trees lean or are overturned from recent storm damage along the path. Search among the forest litter and on decaying logs and stumps for mushrooms that grow abundantly here even in winter.

Discovery Loop

Arrive at a junction for the “Discovery Loop.” Take a right to follow the trail uphill. Notice the forest change as you walk through this short .3-mile section of trail.

Larger Sitka spruce trees begin to make an appearance, along with large western hemlock. Look for trees “on stilts”—their bases sitting above the soil—the result of a starting life on a decaying log or stump that has long since broken down.

A mature western hemlock tree growing on “stilts” next to a Sitka spruce.

Cook’s Ridge

At a well-marked junction, take a right onto Cook’s Ridge Trail toward Gwynn Creek. This 1.7-mile section starts out flat before climbing steeply along a rolling ridgetop.

Marvel at the stature of large-diameter Sitka spruce trees with their “paint chip” bark found near the junction. Explore the rotting logs and jagged stumps with new growth sprouting like unruly hair. Shelf mushrooms create ladders up dead, standing trees (aka snags). A mat of moss envelops the ground and the shallow roots of spruce trees.

As you continue up the steepening trail, observe how the forest transforms from a Sitka spruce forest to one dominated by Douglas-fir. Western redcedar trees join in the mix. Salal and patches of evergreen huckleberry become more prevalent. While trailing blackberry and redwood violet enchant the ground.

Western redcedar and Douglas-fir opposite each other on Cook’s Ridge Trail.

Gwenn Creek

Another well-signed intersection directs you right onto the Gwenn Creek Trail for a 2.6-mile descent along the south side of the ridge with Gwynn Creek below.

Again, the Douglas-fir forest is lush and multistoried. Massive Douglas-fir—some with blackened fire-scarred trunks—loom tall. Swooping branches of western hemlock with their droopy tops hang over the trail, requiring one to swoop down to stay clear. A patch of Cascade Oregon grape stands out amongst the shrub layer of sword fern, huckleberry, and salal. Clumps of deer fern run along sections of the path. Fuzzy leaf piggyback plant and more redwood violet shimmer in patches on the moist forest floor.

The trail undulates up and down through several drainages with creeks that empty into Gwynn creek below, leveling off for about a half mile before reaching the next junction. Gwynn creek is lined with alder trees that hug its banks. Fallen trees create habitat for fish and other wildlife.

Oregon Coast Trail

The final mile of the hike follows the Oregon Coast Trail through a shorter, wind-warped stand of Sitka Spruce. Take a left at a signed junction to follow the trail along the oceanfront. There are several peek-a-boo views to the Ocean and Highway-101. Feel the cool air and listen to ocean waves crashing against the rocky shores—a sure sign the Pacific is near.

To end the hike, cross the road you came in on and follow a paved path to the right up to the visitor center. There is also an option to turn left for a short detour to the rocky shore and tidepools if you are so inclined.