Cascade Head Hike
Cascade Head has all the majesty of the mega-popular hike to the Thumb in Lincoln City without the risky trail conditions or the ambiguous public access. It's well-trafficked but not overrun and more of a local favorite than a social media sensation. Butterflies and wildflowers, including rare species, are a bonus in the summer. The jaw-dropping views on the lower trail are a draw all year, barring dense fog. Elk sightings are common. This sensitive habitat is an honor to visit, even more so than most natural areas. Here’s everything you need to know about hiking at Cascade Head.
Elk graze near Knight Park
Know before you go
Parking for the Cascade Head hike is at Knight Park, about 15 minutes north of Lincoln City. It’s free.
This hike is popular. Consider arriving early on summer weekends.
Restrooms are by the parking lot.
Dogs are not allowed at Cascade Head.
Most of the Cascade Head hike is on land owned by the Nature Conservancy. The group’s main goal is to protect the rare species that grow here. Please stay on the trail, and don’t pick any flowers. Drones, fires, and bicycles aren’t allowed.
The 4.5-mile out-and-back lower Cascade Head Trail is the main draw. It has the big panoramic views and is open all year. Most people stop here. The upper trail, which continues from where the lower trail ends, is closed from January 1st to July 15th to protect Oregon silverspot butterflies.
This hike is a bit underwhelming when fog blocks the views, especially at the top. Forecasts aren’t usually much help, and there’s an amount of luck involved in what you’re able to see.
Chipmunk on the Cascade Head hike
Lower Cascade Head Trail
Distance: 4.5 miles out and back
Elevation gain: 1,200 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Pass required: None
Dog friendly: No, dogs are not allowed on the trail.
ADA access: No
Season: The lower trail is open all year. The upper trail is closed January 1 - July 15th.
The details
Before starting the hike to Cascade Head, it’s worth spending a minute at Knight Park. The Salmon River estuary is a great birdwatching spot. It’s been mostly gulls when I visited, but I’ve also seen herons and cormorants. Standing on the dock by the boat ramp, you might see a crab or two scuttling underwater.
Salmon River estuary
The Cascade Head hike begins on the east side of the parking lot. Look for the trail to the left of the informational signs.
Start here
Just ahead, the trail crosses N 3 Rocks Rd and continues on a wood chip path next to Savage Rd.
Cross here
The wood chip path soon becomes a boardwalk.
Boardwalk
Beyond the blackberry bramble and the tree cover is a large field where I saw about two dozen elk grazing during one of my visits. Elk sightings are common on Cascade Head. Make sure to keep your distance.
Roosevelt elk
After a quarter mile, the trail crosses over to the other side of the road. Signs make it easy to follow. You see Cascade Head in the distance. The first time I did this hike, a thick marine layer covered it. After the two-hour drive, it was a discouraging sight. When I got to the top, I could barely see my hand in front of me, much less the ocean.
If Cascade Head looks like this, you won’t see much
After crossing Savage Rd, you’ll walk along the other side for another 0.1 miles or so.
Keep left
At the bottom of the hill is a large wooden sign for Cascade Head Natural Area. It was the original trailhead for the Cascade Head Trail. From here, the hike starts feeling like the woods rather than a walk through a residential neighborhood.
Old Cascade Head Trailhead
The trail climbs steeply for about a quarter mile. Between the incline and the tree roots, I’d say it’s the hardest part of the hike. It starts to level off around the Sitka spruce grove, where mossy old-growth trees make the forest feel like a cathedral.
Sitka spruce grove
The trail continues steadily uphill through the forest for a little less than a mile. You cross a few footbridges over trickling creeks filled with skunk cabbage. A few late-blooming foxgloves lingered into September. Mushrooms were popping up in October. You hear the waves rolling in beyond the tree cover that screens the ocean from view.
Cross here
The Cascade Head Trail is great for seeing wildlife. Douglas squirrels chitter from the trees. Garter snakes slither in the undergrowth. A little before you reach the ocean views, you’ll cross into Nature Conservancy land. Leave a donation in the box if you can.
Douglas squirrels are not afraid of me
The trail soon leaves the forest and enters a meadow with expansive ocean views. Beneath Cascade Head, the Salmon River empties into the Pacific next to a U-shaped spit. Forested slopes rise in the distance as you look south toward Lincoln City.
The second half of the hike is all ocean views
A little past the first ocean sighting is the lower Cascade Head viewpoint, a patch of grass by the trail. The views are similar to those at the upper viewpoint, and it makes a good place to turn around for a shorter and easier hike.
Lower Cascade Head viewpoint
Past the lower viewpoint, the trail makes switchbacks up Cascade Head’s grassy slopes. The ocean will be in sight from here until the top. Spring and summer are great times to see wildflowers. Some goldenrod lasted until my September hike. By October, only a few asters and yarrow blooms remained, although the coyote bushes had a pleasing white fuzziness to them. Watch your step as you walk. Elk like hanging out on Cascade Head. You’ll see tracks and other, let’s say, evidence on the trail. Ground squirrels scurry through the grass. Overhead, look for raptors circling.
Cascade Head Trail
At the top of Cascade Head is the upper viewpoint, another patch of grass next to the trail, where you can see the Salmon River estuary and beyond. The Thumb sticks up above the westernmost cliffs. Looking south, you see Lincoln City, Devils Lake, and Siletz Bay. On a clear day, the views extend to Boiler Bay. When the marine layer is thick, you see the ground below your feet and nothing else. It took me a couple of tries to get the big panorama.
View from Cascade Head
After the upper viewpoint, you’ve seen the most impressive sights on Cascade Head. If you visit from January 1st to July 15th, turn around here. The rest of the year, you can choose whether to continue on the Upper Cascade Head Trail.
The Upper Trail
Goldenrod on Cascade Head
Open July 16 - December 31st
I hiked the upper trail on my first visit to Cascade Head, hoping the marine layer would clear in the meantime. It didn’t, but it did lend an atmospheric moodiness to the forest. Past the upper viewpoint, the trail heads into the woods. It continues for about a mile, nice and flat for a change, through a mature Sitka spruce forest. The undergrowth starts as a carpet of wood sorrel and ferns, then gets brambly and overgrown. It passes under a wood arch of mysterious origin and ends, anticlimactically, at a trailhead sign by an old forest service road. A landslide blocks the road these days, and it’s only reachable on foot. The upper trailhead makes a good turnaround point, about 6.5 miles out and back.
Upper Cascade Head Trail
You can keep going from here. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but people do, and I’ve heard it’s an adventure. The old forest service road leads to what was once the very popular Hart’s Cove hike before the landslide. The trail is no longer maintained and, by report, overgrown and hard to follow. From the upper trailhead, take a left on the old forest service road. If you’ve seen Beauty and the Beast, it looks like the road Belle’s dad took that landed him in prison at the Beast’s castle. I did the first bit of it, which was in decent shape. You’ll reach the old Hart’s Cove Trailhead in a little under a mile. From here, it would be another 2.7 miles to the Hart’s Cove viewpoint. The whole thing is a challenging 15-mile out-and-back hike. If you go, bring plenty of water and snacks. Have an offline map with you and plan to spend the whole day on the trail.
Forest service road
Enjoy your day at Cascade Head!
With love,
Emma
Getting there
Knight Park and the Cascade Head hike are about 15 minutes north of Lincoln City. Heading north on Highway 101, turn left onto N 3 Rocks Rd. Continue for 2.4 miles until you reach Knight Park, then take a left into the parking lot. The road to the park is paved and in good condition. The drive from Portland to Cascade Head takes about two hours.
Explore nearby
See more incredible Oregon Coast views on the hike to the Knoll and the Thumb.
Find the best things to do in Lincoln City.
Visit the Neskowin Ghost Forest.
