Hike Cape Perpetua
Photo: Anthony Gainer | Devils Churn
One of the many great things about a visit to Yachats is accessing the amazing trail system that winds along the beach from the north, through town, and up to Cape Perpetua to the south! The Cape Perpetua Scenic Area is a federally protected temperate rainforest and marine preserve that consists of 2,700 acres of exceptional coastal habitat and is perfect for all levels of hiking and walking. Cape Perpetua offers a 26-mile trail system that can be entered from Yachats or from the Visitors Center, which is located just off of Highway 101 less than three miles south of town.
If you want to hike into Cape Perpetua from downtown Yachats, you’ll start by heading south on the 804 Trail (easy), which becomes the Oregon Coast Trail (easy) just north of the Yaquina River, and then turns into the Amanda Trail about a mile from Cape Perpetua (Yachats Trails Map, yachatsoregon.org). The Amanda Trail (mostly moderate to difficult) is 2.9 miles from Yachats to the summit of Cape Perpetua and is significant because it’s dedicated to a blind Coos woman named Amanda who suffered injustices during the reservation years in the 1860s. This hike will take you through the forest, where Amanda’s story is explained at intervals, to an amazing viewpoint overlooking Cape Perpetua and the Pacific Ocean.
The Amanda Trail connects to the St. Perpetua and Whispering Spruce trails at the summit. The St. Perpetua Trail (difficult) has been called “The Best View of the Oregon Coast” and winds 2.8 miles down to (or up from) the visitors center. The Whispering Spruce Trail (easy) is a .2-mile loop that affords amazing ocean views from the West Shelter (built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s) and the stone parapet. All three of these trails can also be accessed from the Cape Perpetua Day Use parking lot, which is at the end of a two-mile road that starts near the Visitor’s Center (Cape Perpetua Hiking Trails Map, Siuslaw National Forest-Cape Perpetua).
The Giant Spruce Trail (easy) is a 2-mile round-trip hike that begins at the Visitor’s Center and takes you through the lush vegetation and massive trees that make up this old growth forest to the site of 500-year-old Sitka Spruce Tree. You can also drive or hike to Devil’s Churn, Thor’s Well, and Cook’s Chasm, which are all located on the Pacific Ocean side of the Scenic Area. For these and other great hikes through Cape Perpetua, visit Siuslaw National Forest-Cape Perpetua for detailed maps and trail information.
By Phil Sollers