Cape Falcon Trail
How do you feel about mud? Love it? Great, this is the hike for you. Otherwise, maybe go in August. Or on a different hike. The Cape Falcon Trail isn’t so much a trail as a swamp with a lot of tree roots. If you squelch your way through, the payoffs are huge. The swamp winds through a beautiful coastal forest on the way to one of the best viewpoints on the Oregon Coast. Bring a camera, trail snacks, and a change of clothes. Here’s everything you need to know about hiking the Cape Falcon Trail in Oswald West State Park.
Cape Falcon Trail
Know before you go
Parking is free at the Cape Falcon Trailhead. You don’t need a pass or permit.
The Cape Falcon Trail is popular, and the parking lot fills up on summer weekends. Use the Oswald West State Park lot on the other side of Highway 101 as overflow.
Restrooms are across Highway 101 at the Oswald West parking lot. Short Sand Beach also has restrooms and picnic tables if you make a short detour along the Cape Falcon Trail.
Leashed dogs are welcome on the trail.
The Cape Falcon Trail has uneven terrain and ends near unfenced drop-offs. It’s not a great hike with younger kids. Older kids will do fine.
Wear hiking boots, not sneakers. Don’t wear anything that can’t get muddy. A hat might be safe. Maybe.
Neahkahnie cliffs
On the trail to Cape Falcon
Distance: 5 miles out and back
Elevation gain: 200 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Pass required: None
Dog friendly: Yes, leashed dogs are welcome on the trail.
ADA access: No
Season: All year
The details
A sign at the Cape Falcon Trailhead warns you that it’s only for experienced hikers with proper equipment. Let’s break that down. The route is easy to follow. As long as you stay on the trail, the hike isn’t dangerous or technical. You’ll want hiking boots. The mud is deep and unrelenting. Other than that, the only equipment you need is a water bottle. The terrain is very uneven, with lots of tree roots. It’s not a great hike if you have knee problems. I met another hiker who turned around for that reason.
Typical root density on the trail
When you start the hike, you’ll think I’m exaggerating about the mud. Sure, there’s some, but it’s nowhere near ankle-deep until after the first half mile or so. A mature forest of Sitka spruce and hemlock shades the trail. Ferns, salal, evergreen huckleberry, false lily of the valley, and wood sorrel fill the undergrowth. Clusters of trillium flowers were blooming on my spring hike. Through the trees, you’ll see a glimpse of Short Sand Creek flowing at the bottom of the hill.
Trillium along the trail
The one tricky obstacle on the Cape Falcon Trail is toward the beginning. A downed tree crosses the trail. The trunk is slippery, and the ground around it is crumbling. The hiker with knee problems turned around here.
The obstacle
After the tree, it’s smooth sailing until the trail junction. You’ll pass some gigantic Sitka spruce trees. The dense forest blocks your view of the ocean, but you’ll be able to hear it.
In about a half mile, you’ll reach a junction with a sign. The trail to the left heads down to Short Sand Beach, a good detour on the way out or back. For now, we’ll head right to continue on the Cape Falcon Trail.
Head right
At this point, you’ve completed Mud 101. It’s time for some graduate-level mud. A section of boardwalk over a marshy trail will give you a false sense of security. It ends soon.
Don’t get excited. The boardwalk doesn’t last long.
You’ll pass a lovely patch of skunk cabbage. It was blooming during my late March hike.
Skunk cabbage is an early spring bloom
When the boardwalk ends, the swamp begins. It smells like a fermenting primordial soup. It looks like the quicksand that swallows the villain in action movies set in the jungle.
Average mud conditions
For the next mile or so, the Cape Falcon Trail makes a meandering path through the woods. You’ll be walking north, roughly parallel to Short Sand Beach. The lush forest is a welcome distraction from the quagmire that is the trail.
Once you’re close to Cape Falcon, you’ll start getting glimpses of the ocean through the trees. The first of them looks onto the north end of Short Sand Beach, where you can kinda sorta see the beach’s waterfall, Blumenthal Falls. Look toward the end of the cape to get a glimpse of your destination.
Cape Falcon’s south side
The rest of the hike follows the cape out to the end. You’ll soon be able to look back on Short Sand Beach.
Short Sand Beach
You’ll see a couple of roped-off areas warning about unstable cliffs. Continue past them.
Stay on the trail to avoid unstable cliffs
Once you leave the tree cover, you’re almost there. You’ll pass a faint trail to the right. It’s the Oregon Coast Trail. Keep going past it. The Cape Falcon Trail ends through a field of dense salal. You might think you’re done with the mud by now. You’re not. You’re about to get your PhD in mud. It’s the deepest and slipperiest of the hike.
The mud here eats grown men for breakfast
Once you reach the viewpoint, all the slipping and squelching will be forgiven. Cape Falcon extends about a half mile out into the Pacific Ocean. From the end of the cape, you’ll have far-reaching views of the coastline to the south. Neahkahnie Mountain looms large in front of Manzanita and the Nehalem spit. Patches of grass are perfect spots to have a snack and watch for whales.
Cape Falcon Viewpoint
Ancient lava flows formed Cape Falcon and Neahkahnie Mountain. You’ll be on the south side of the cape, where you can see a steep eroding hillside with a distinctive rocky hook at the end.
Neahkahnie Mountain across Smuggler’s Cove
Looking north, you’ll see more of the cape’s cliffs.
Cape Falcon
When you’ve admired the views from Cape Falcon, head back the way you came. Consider making a short detour to Short Sand Beach on the way back.
Short Sand Beach
It’s easy to make Short Sand Beach part of your hike to Cape Falcon. I like stopping by on the way back after I’ve finished most of the hard work. Follow the Cape Falcon Trail back to the junction with the sign and head toward the Kramer Memorial and Day Use Picnic Area. The trail makes a couple of switchbacks and ends at a picnic area with tables, benches, restrooms, and beach access.
Short Sand Beach (on a Tuesday)
Unless it’s the off-season, Short Sand Beach isn’t one of my favorites on the Oregon Coast because it gets so crowded. Even when people seem to cover every bit of sand and driftwood, it’s still a beautiful beach that’s worth visiting. Cape Falcon and Neahkahnie Mountain frame the beach and create Smugger’s Cove. Protection from the cliffs blocks strong ocean winds, making it a popular destination for surfers and picnickers. Blumenthal Falls tumbles into the ocean on the north side of the beach. Look for tidepools here at low tide.
A short trail from Short Sand Beach brings you to the trail junction on Cape Falcon
Once you’ve seen Short Sand Beach, you can return to the Cape Falcon parking lot one of two ways. The first is to head back the way you came. The other is to make the end of the hike into a little loop. Look for the Short Sand Beach Trail behind the restroom building. In a half mile, you’ll reach the Oswald West parking lot. Cross Highway 101 to return to the Cape Falcon Trailhead parking.
Getting there
The Cape Falcon Trailhead is directly off Highway 101 between Cannon Beach and Manzanita. The parking lot is paved and no problem with a low-clearance vehicle.
Explore nearby
Try an easier and less muddy hike in Oswald West State Park, the Elk Flats Trail.
Find the best things to do in Cannon Beach.
