My sister did some research and picked this hike. Before we could even begin we had to drive all the way to Cannon Beach. Neither of us had been to the beach all summer. The Oregon coast is important to us. We had to get our feet wet before we began.

We drove into Cannon Beach and headed for the surf. We took off our shoes, enjoyed the sand and water, and reminisced about our beach-filled childhood. It was the perfect temperature for a hike.

We didn’t know where to eat. We drove by a Mexican place on the way into town. Why not? Because that is just stupid. We ate delicious food, way too much of it, and the first hour of the hike was excruciating. I would encourage you not to eat fatty food moments before you embark on rigorous physical activity. Yuck.

We found our way to the parking lot and headed for the trailhead. We didn’t really know where we were going but we intended to do about 7 miles. We headed north on a trail. It too was ‘moderate’ difficulty. Especially since we were cheese-filled, we were worried about the amount of down. That can only mean there is the same amount of up when you return. It was a great temp though and we were loving it.

The trail was well-maintained. There were steps here and there built into the beautiful scenery. We stopped at viewpoints and could see the crashing waves below. This trail’s plant life could not be more different than our previous hike. We appreciated the variety of scenery that Oregon provides. We have traveled a lot together and we don’t want to live anywhere else.

We walked through Indian Beach, part of the trail, and that’s when the real hike began. As we headed toward the hiker’s camp everything got much more difficult. We were going uphill, uphill, uphill with switchback after switchback after switchback. Even my sister was having to rest. We kept saying, “After this one we’ll be at the top.” That is now our hiking joke. It’s never after this one, never. When we reached the hiker’s camp, which is totally amazing and cool and I want to stay there, we decided we had gone far enough (only 6.1 miles).

There is a different trail back, a loop, and we took it. It was the craziest trail we had ever seen (super narrow and steep) and we were really glad we were going down it, especially when we passed the crying children who were coming up it.

There is nothing like the Oregon coast. I can’t wait to have more amazing trail adventures there.

For information about Ecola State Park click here.