Calendar

Past Activity

OCT: Newport to Waldport

  • Start date: 07/25/2021

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 07/27/2021

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

NOTE: THE DEPARTURE LOCATION HAS BEEN UPDATED: (Coordinates: 44.6009, -124.0652) South Beach State Park, Day Use Parking Lot. Participants are responsible for getting to the Newport, Oregon, area, and return transport. Meet Sunday, noon (12pm).

The Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) explores Oregon's dynamic edge, a resource-rich environment that has attracted explorers for centuries and into today. This section hike is intended to be enjoyed with a daypack and then return to a central location for tent camping. The focus is on beach walking, utilizing lesser-traveled side roads and trails. Hiking next to Hwy 101 will be avoided as much as possible. We will be car shuttling between the start and end locations each day. This trip is exploratory; flexibility is a must. Obsidian Covid protocols will be in place. The trip leader is vaccinated.

This trip a 3-day, 19-mile section hike of the OCT between Newport and Waldport. We will be tent camping at the South Beach State Park group camp. The majority of this trip is beach walking. There will be several bridge crossings on pedestrian walkways.

SCHEDULE:
Day 1: Sunday - At least 3-6 miles of hiking today. All participants should meet at the departure location in Newport. Our day will begin at noon so bring your lunch or plan on grabbing a bite to eat. The time in afternoon is up to you: visit the aquarium, explore the local beach, drive to downtown or walk into the town via the bridge. The trip leader plans to walk over the bridge to the Maritime Museum (in the downtown area), then returning by the bridge to the South Beach area, via Jetty Road and trails to our group camp. We cannot check into the group camp until 4pm. The rest of the evening is free time to explore and a beach walk.

Day 2: Monday - 8 Miles of beach walking today. After making a quick car shuttle run, we will depart camp as a group and walk south on the beach, past the picturesque Beaver Creek at Brian Booth State Park, and continue just beyond to the Seal Rock State Recreation Site where our car shuttle will be waiting. Late that afternoon will return to camp, enjoy a shower, and have dinner at a restaurant in Newport (provided this is a safe activity). The restaurant is optional.

Day 3: Tuesday - Today, we walk 8 miles. In the morning, we break camp and drive to Seal Rock State Recreation Site to begin the walk. There are two rock outcroppings near Seal Rock that will impede our hike so we will need to walk for several hundred feet on Hwy 101 and then on side streets for about 1 mile then return to the sand. Our walk on the beach will continue to the community of Bayshore (just north of Waldport) where we will go inland and over to the Alsea Bay Bridge and cross on a pedestrian path. On the other side, we can take water and restroom breaks at the interpretive center. If time, and hunger levels, allow we will stop at a local cafe or drive a short distance to Yachats for a meal. Depending on the tide we will walk on the beach or a side street to the Governor Patterson Memorial State Recreation Site where we will end the trip.

PAYMENT
A). Total of $25/person; $23/person to the trip leader) includes 2 nights of campground fees, firewood, and *should* cover all cars, the Obsidian trip fee is $2/peson.
B). Pay the trip leader on the first day of the trip.

ADDITIONAL:
Food: Bring all of your food (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks).
Clothing: Dress for the weather; it can be cool on at coast in the summer or have full sun. Plan on small creek crossings and getting your feet wet.
Equipment: Bring your tent and a small camp stove etc.
Camping: Our group camp has limited shade. We might hear some residual highway noise. There are picnic tables. Flush toilets and showers are available in the campground but you might have to walk a few minutes. Bring earplugs, shower shoes, and items that help you to be comfortable. Always a good idea to bring an ample supply of quarters for the shower.
Drivers: Drivers needed, we need 2 or 3 drivers who will shuttle.
Passes: Bring your state park and federal park passes.

  • Event Leader: Hougardy Mark

  • Assistant Leader:

  • Event category: Trips

  • Area Type:

  • Departure Location: See Trip Description

  • Rating: Moderate

  • Roundtrip total drive miles: 240

  • Season: 2021

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: see above

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 20

  • Member Fees: 2

  • Elevation Gain: 100

  • Non-Member Fees: 10

  • Committee: Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

The first day began at noon at the South Beach State Park day-use area. The afternoon was free-form for exploring, and some of us walked over the Yaquina Bay Bridge into Newport, where the previous Oregon Coast Trail hike ended. In Newport, we spoke with a fisherman who said his harvest of Black Cod (about 300 pounds) was shipping to Japan, and he had received top dollar for the fish. A trip participant bought a banana leaf-wrapped tamale from the street vendor that she later shared with the group (the tamale was yummy). Few people in Newport were wearing masks to prevent Covid transmission, even in restaurants and indoor areas. Our walk back over the bridge proved to be very windy. The wind was knocking out our feet from underneath, and with the amount of close vehicle traffic on the narrow walkway, this was a bit unnerving. At 4 pm, we checked into the group camp and explored a bit more of the park. In the morning we walked a few steps to the trailhead and began our 8-mile hike to Seal Rock. The route was sunny for the first several miles then the fog moved in. At Brian Booth State Park, we had lunch next to Beaver Creek then continued south again on the beach to Seal Rock. As the beach trail ended about 1/8th of a mile from Seal Rock, we ascended a somewhat hidden and unnamed path to the highway. While walking that last couple of feet on the highway, to the parking area and our shuttle, a large truck passed us and swerved onto the highway's shoulder to avoid hitting a car that was turning. It was a close call for us. At the parking area, we enjoyed the view of Seal Rock then returned to the campsite. For dinner, we ate at a local fish house where we could sit outside. We knew the place was a tourist trap and the fish greasy, but we were hungry. Afterward, we went on a 2-mile hike on a nature trail to walk off the meal. The trip leader lost his sunglasses somewhere on the trail. Everyone had an early night. On the third day, there were only 4 of us hiking. We started at Seal Rock and enjoyed a negative low tide. The tidepools were amazing! Because of the low water we easily navigated rocks that might have been problematic. The soup-like fog returned and we hiked for 5 miles on the beach in an ethereal haze. Approaching Waldport, we walked inland on some side roads, and the fog immediately cleared. We made out way down to the Alsea River and shimmied up a rough trail to the Alsea Bay Bridge. The crossing was pleasant, and we enjoyed the wide pedestrian walkway. In Waldport, we walked more on the beach, past the seawall, and to the mouth of the Alsea River. The wind was picking up again. We had a close encounter with a blue heron who flew close. At the Governor Patterson Memorial State Recreation Area, we ended the section of the Oregon Coast Trail. This was a fulfilling yet hard section to travel as the sand made travel more intensive; incidents included several blisters, a lost pair of sunglasses, lots of sore muscles, and one bad tummy ache from the greasy fish. With side trips, we hiked at 25 miles, one pedometer read 30 miles.

Members & Guests signed-up & waitlisted

  • Number of spots on trip: 8
  • Number of spots available: 0
No. Status Full name Phone Transportation Needed? Trip Fee # Can Take?
1 Signed-Up Hougardy, Mark 541-206-9532 N 2
2 Signed-Up Hougardy, Christiane 541-914-4556 N 2
3 Signed-Up Tao, Fumiyo 703-774-6662 N 10
4 Signed-Up Bryan, Keiko 541-342-1240 N 2
5 Signed-Up Frank, Nikki 541-954-3050 N 2
6 Signed-Up Skarda, Joan 541-590-0205 N 2
7 Signed-Up Skarda, John 541-902-1450 N 2
8 Signed-Up Hoecker, Nancy 541-217-8453 N 2
9 Signed-Up Parks, Linda 607-244-4194 N 2
10 Signed-Up Orsi, Barbara 541-515-9665 N 2
11 Signed-Up Carpenter, Kathie 541-505-2370 N 2
12 Signed-Up Nelson, Nola 541-942-5326 N 2
13 Signed-Up Bloomfield, Donna 831-818-2079 N 10
14 Signed-Up Christiansen, Lynda 541-912-9952 N 2