Eco-Chick Escapes to: The Oregon Coast’s Cape Lookout
This past weekend was a hot one for Oregon; so lots of people inland headed for the coast, which was about 30 (yes, I know!) degrees cooler. My partner and I checked out a beautiful spot neither of of us had ever been: Cape Lookout.
Like many of my Oregon adventures, I assumed we would find a nice beach or some views, and instead was rewarding with some very real knock-your-socks-off natural beauty of a variety of sorts. Packing essentials like the best food for camping was a no-brainer. We headed north from a very busy Pacific City and up the coast…
Check out Must-See Beaches, Coves and Lookouts on the Oregon Coast
by Starre Vartan at Mode
Starting at the parking lot, we were presented with several options for hikes: An easy 5+ mile (roundtrip) out to the tip of the Cape; a 4-mile roundtrip to the beach below (which we could hear, if not quite see); and a longer hike to a camping area. Choosing Camping Tent Accessories that are useful would make the camping experience so much better, Get More Information about camping.
We opted for the to-the-beach hike. Which, unlike many beach hikes I have been on before, was 95% in the cool of the forest down a path so soft with pine needles that I went the whole way (and back) barefoot—I LOVE to hike in bare feet when I get the chance!
About halfway through the hike down, down, down, through a series of loopy switchbacks, we were rewarded with the gobsmacking view in the image at the top of the post—the Cape that curved out and around the beach to which we were headed.
The beach was huge, and beautifully empty, even while so many other local beaches had been madly busy (must have been the two-mile hike that kept people away!). There were a few large pieces of sculptural driftwood, and beneath the sharp, forested cliffs that ran down to the beach were the loveliest natural dune systems. (FYI, I’m wearing a Nomads Clothing organic cotton, fair-trade dress; more on that here.)
When you come across relatively untouched natural dune ecosystems, you realize how fragile and interesting they are—easily wiped away in one good storm, they always hold precious, temporary life forms, like these sweet succulents that were in bloom.
Or this daisy, blooming singularly among the flotsam, stones and driftwood bits.
True to form, I did some classic hanging out at the beach! 🙂 This giant tree was washed ashore at some point and is a great place to find some shade on this otherwise very open beach.
If you’d like to visit Cape Lookout and its beach, here’s some more info from Wikipedia and Oregon State Parks.
Like these pictures? Then follow me on Instagram! I’m always off on fun adventures here, there, and everywhere.
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Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick.com and the author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life. She's also a freelance science and environment writer who has published in National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Pacific Standard, the NRDC, and many more. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her partner and black cat. She was a geologist in her first career, and still picks up rocks wherever she goes.
