Description:

The Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) is scenic and diverse and best experienced on foot. Mark is leading a series of section hikes to explore this amazing trail. You are welcome to join all the walks or any that strike your fancy. Please note, OCT trips should be considered as exploratory; flexibility is a must. All of the section hikes are intended to be enjoyed with a daypack, and always return to a central location for tent camping, showers, etc. Trips focus on beach walking, utilizing lesser-traveled side roads and trails. Hiking next to Hwy 101 will be avoided as much as possible. To maximize beach time, and minimize highway walking, we will be car shuttling between start and end locations as needed on the trip.

This trip is a 3-day, 16-mile section hike of the OCT between Depoe Bay and Newport. Our route will explore the middle part of this section on the first day, the northern area on the second, and the southerly part on the third day.

Sign-up & Payment:
A). The trip will be available for online signup May 9, 2020.
B). Within 5 days of signing up, mail $30 to Mark Hougardy, 418 Heritage Oaks Drive, Eugene, Oregon, 97405; this amount covers your campground reservation, firewood, entry for to 3 vehicles at the group camp, and trip fees
C). The payment is non-refundable unless your place is filled by someone else.

SCHEDULE:Day 1: Sunday: At least 4 miles of walking today with options for more exploring. We will depart Eugene and drive north to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse & Natural Area. We will have lunch near the interpretive center. We will spend the day on the peninsula's trails and enjoying a cobbled beach. Later, we will beach walk between Yaquina Head and Beverly Beach. In the late afternoon, we will set up at Beverly Beach State Park (in a Group Camp).

Day 2: Monday: 6 miles of hiking today. In the morning, we shuttle north to Depoe Bay and explore a 1-mile section of the coast, making a stop at the whale watch center. Then we drive south a short distance south to the Rocky Creek State Scenic Viewpoint to park. After a few hundred feet of highway walking we turn onto Otter Crest Loop, a low-use, one-way, secondary road that offers great views of the rugged coast several hundred feet below. Our route will take us to the Cape Foulweather & the Otter Crest State Scenic Viewpoint area where the road descends to the Devil's Punchbowl. Near the Punchbowl we will return to the sand and continue to Beverly Beach State Park. We have the rest of the day to explore and make good use of the camp showers. Optional: if time/energy allows, we might visit Newport's waterfront for dinner.

Day 3: Tuesday: 6 miles total. In the mid-morning, we will break camp. To avoid an unsightly two-mile stretch of 101 we will drive the Agate Beach Recreation Area in Newport. We will walk north along Agate Beach, next to the river, before continuing south to the historic Nye Beach. At Nye Beach, we ascend to neighborhood streets and continue another mile to the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. We end our trip at the base of the lighthouse overlooking the beautiful Yaquina Bay Bridge. We should return to Eugene in the late afternoon.