Hiking the Indian Beach Trail in Oregon

Indian Beach Trail, part of the Oregon Coast Trail, is located near Cannon Beach, Oregon, and stretches from Ecola Point (just north of Cannon Beach) to Indian Beach, several miles up the coast and one of the two beaches in Ecola Point State Park.  We initially drive to and explore Indian Beach and then follow the trail south to Ecola Point and return.  The tide is out when we arrive and Indian Beach offers exposed sand for great walking and exploration.

Indian Beach

Indian Beach demonstrates  the rugged grandeur of the Oregon Coast, a place where old-growth conifer forests cover wave-buffeted cliffs.  The beach is bow-shaped, sitting in a notch carved from Tillamook Head and a chain of sea stacks dot the shoreline, rising from the ocean and delighting us as we walk along the exposed sand (the tide is out).

We spot the trailhead marker just above the beach and start up toward Ecola Point.

Starting up the trail

Glimpses back at Indian Beach

Continuing up

The trail leaves the coast and loops through the forest around the back side of the hills, returning to the coast as we approach Ecola Point.

Passing through the forest

Along the trail, not bothered by us at all

We start to descend to the water and are offered glimpses of the ocean and the beaches near Ecola Point.

Returning to the ocean

Looking back at Indian Beach

The path continues descending to Ecola Point and we walk out to find more beautiful views up and down the coast.

Views from Ecola Point

We return to the trail and head back to Indian Beach to find that the tide has come in and the beach is much smaller.

Hiking back through the forest

Returning to Indian Beach

At the trailhead, a board tells us of some of the films shot nearby, including Point Break, Twilight, the Goonies, and Kindergarten Cop.

Filming here

This has been another great Oregon Coast stop and we need to explore more on another day.

Cannon Beach in Oregon

After walking through the park and viewing the waterfalls in Oregon's Silver Falls State Park, we head over to the Pacific Ocean and stop at Cannon Beach, named one of the world's 100 most  beautiful places by National Geographic.  The stunning coastline, fabulous sandy beaches, and views of Haystack Rock offer an incredible experience.

First views of the beach

Haystack Rock is one of the most recognized landmarks on the Oregon Coast and is known for its fabulous natural landscape, abundant wildlife, accessible tide pools, and use as a filming location for movies such as The Goonies and Kindergarten Cop.  The rock is a nesting area for many seabirds, including the tufted puffin.

Haystack Rock

Walking the beach

Tide coming in

As the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean, the sky lights up, Haystack Rock stands out, and visitors build fires on the beach to counter the crisp evening air.

Sunset

Beach bonfires

After sunset, we wander down the street to find dinner of baked halibut and seafood stew, then return to our hotel to sleep and stroll the beach again in the morning.

Baked halibut, seafood stew

Morning stroll on the beach

What a great place!

Silver Falls State Park in Oregon - Trail of Ten Falls

Silver Falls State Park is the largest park in the Oregon State Parks system (9,000 acres, 3,642 hectares) and features one of the most impressive waterfall day hikes in the US.  There are ten waterfalls on the 7.8 mile (12.6 km) loop, many of which the path goes behind, in addition to more than 35 miles (56 km) of backcountry trails for mountain biking, hiking, or horseback riding (beware the bears and cougars living in the more remote park areas).  We're exploring a little of Oregon and head over to hike the fails

We park and walk toward the first falls, Upper North Falls.

Upper North Falls

Backtracking, we start down Canyon Trail, descending into the canyon and looping past the other waterfalls, starting with the first one that we can walk behind, North Falls.

Descending to the canyon floor

North Falls

View from behind the falls

Continuing along the trail, we reach Twin Falls, then Middle North Falls, another we can walk behind.

Continuing along the canyon floor

Twin Falls

Middle North Falls

We then pass Drake Falls, Double Falls, and Lower North Falls.

Drake Falls

Double Falls

Lower North Falls

After Lower North Falls, a bridge takes us across the water and we follow the stream to Lower South Falls (again walking behind the falls) and then up from the canyon floor toward  South Falls.

Crossing the bridge and continuing along the stream

Lower South Falls

South Falls

We follow the trail up from South Falls and walk along the stream leading to the falls back to the parking lot for

The top of South Falls

As we get to then end, we realize that our fall count is nine.  We missed Winter Falls which is down a separate Winter Falls Trail.  But, we've still seen many great waterfalls and had a spectacular hike with  an incredibly scenic few hours, especially actually walking behind many of the falls and viewing them from a different perspective.