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.
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.
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.
Mini Field Guide
