Oregon Coast Trail - Yachats

The Oregon Coast trail is about 362 miles in length with a mix of trails, beach and paved roads. I caught a few sections along my drive. The small coastal town of Yachats, just south of Newport, is a beautiful section if you want to sample the trail. 

I'm already thinking next time I should add a night in Yachats to my itinerary. There are several lodging options along the trail and would make for an easier, but more expensive thru-hike.

The trail has several tree tunnels to walk through with constant views of the ocean. It's also entirely flat. I wonder if after 362 miles you would get bored of this. I don't think I would.

I'll be back some day for more I think as I leave.

Simpson-Reed Trail - California

Driving south along the 101 and crossing over into California from Oregon was an interesting experience. It was incredibly foggy and hard to see far ahead in the road. It was in California that the trees suddenly became humungous. The Redwoods. Driving along the highway and turning off onto the curvier 199 to head east was one of my favorite parts of my roadtrip.

All this leads us to a stop at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park for a short hike on the Simpson-Reed Trail. It was a weekday, so it wasn't busy. A photographer was taking photos of the trees. 

A forest of skyscrapers beckons. I can't stop looking up.

I love this magical place so much.

I feel tiny and magnificent at the same time.

One of my inspirations for traveling through northern California and southern Oregon was reading the whole Virgin River series this year. A romantic at heart, I also loved reading about how beautiful this area is and I wanted to check it out myself. After the hike I'll be driving through Grants Pass and heading towards Crater Lake!

Silver Falls State Park - Oregon

I visited a new state this year and probably almost every day I still think about the magnificent waterfalls I saw there. As in a lot of cases of traveling to beautiful areas, it makes you pause and think "Should I move here?" 

Silver Falls State Park was my first hike on my 1,191 mile road trip. I drove north from Eugene turning off onto a pretty desolate road. It didn't look like there would be any waterfalls where I was heading, but eventually the scenery morphed into an enclosed forest near the park entrance. It was a Sunday in early fall, mid-morning and the large parking lot was less than half full. 

I decided on hiking the shorter loop for the Trail of Ten Falls, about 6 miles. The second waterfall (after Frenchie Falls which wasn't much) is the most popular, South Falls, and immediately upon laying eyes on it, my heart lifted. With most of these falls, you also get to walk behind them.

I take a moment to look at the leaf.

Next up is Lower South Falls

There is a long break in the trees. This part too is pretty and peaceful. I'm enjoying all the greenery.

There are some smaller falls along the way, Lower North Falls, Double Falls and Drake Falls. The next big waterfall is Middle North Falls.

It looks like you can keep walking, but it's a turn around point after going under the falls.

Back to the main trail I detour to the short cut, I will have to come back another time for North Falls. The last waterfall is Winter Falls, smaller with a bench to rest.

This next part of the trail is the least interesting as it follows close to the road back to parking. 

Arriving back around lunch hour, the parking lot is now full. 

The overall elevation gain was around 1,140 which wasn't nearly as noticeable compared to a 1,000 gain at altitude in Colorado so I would rank this as easy.

For a first hike in Oregon I don't think I could have picked a better one. If this was all I did out there it would be worth the trip. 

Some post-hike chocolates from Sweet Life Patisserie, my favorite stop in Eugene.

"No one travels without purpose. Those who are lost wish to be lost." - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikrey