Details
Region: Northern Oregon Coast
Location: 2375 Cape Meares Loop near Oceanside, OR
DEN Rating: 8/10
Trail Length: several short trails; longest is 0.8 miles
Trail Type: out and back
Hike Time: 20-30 minutes one way for longest trail
Trail Difficulty: easy 2/10 on main trails
Elevation Gain: 121 feet to lighthouse
Trail Surface: paved; dirt
Popularity: 5/10
Family friendly: yes
Pet friendly: yes
Handicapped Accessible: yes to lighthouse and Octopus Tree
Swimming: no
Camping: no
Restroom: flush toilets
Open Hours: day use only (7AM to dusk)
Season: year-round
Pass or Permit: none required
Managed By: Oregon State Parks
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Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint is a fantastic state park on the northern Oregon coast. The park features three main attractions along with several outstanding viewpoints, interpretive plaques, and opportunities for wildlife viewing. Cape Meares is the northernmost of the trio on the Three Capes Scenic Route, and is the most developed of the three, with central parking and paved, well-graded trails providing easy access to the the majority of the park’s highlights for those with mobility concerns.
Visitors can get more up close and personal with the amazing lens of Cape Meares Lighthouse than any other in the state.
Cape Meares Light
Cape Meares State Park features a short, stubby lighthouse at the end of an easy trail which leads down to the tip of the cape. The trail is situated in such a way that visitors get a remarkably close eye-level look at the intricate geometry and intense red of the lighthouse’s lens in its little … Read more
The main paved pathway heads 0.25 miles gently down toward the point of Cape Meares, with the huge lighthouse lens framed in the view. This lens belongs to Cape Meares Lighthouse, which is Oregon’s shortest yet features one of the largest and brightest kerosene lights on the west coast. The trail configuration lets you get up close and personal with the magnificent lens, which was first illuminated in 1890. A steeper ramp leads to the base of the lighthouse, which has a small gift shop (open 11AM-4PM daily during summer months). Tours of the lighthouse for groups of 5 or less can be arranged on a first come-first served basis. A loop can be created by taking the other path on the left to return to the parking lot.
Head south from the parking lot, past the restrooms, and down the lovely 0.1-mile trail through the forest to find the Octopus Tree, a multiply-trunked Sitka Spruce standing on the edge of a small meadow. Nobody knows why this tree grew so many trunks, but it is very cool and absolutely huge. Please stay behind the wooden railing. A magnificent viewpoint looking south toward Cape Lookout is found just past the Octopus Tree.
If you want to hike a bit more extensively, find the trail through the forest near the park entrance which enters the Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge. The main trail is a 0.8-mile out-and-back trail (1.6 miles total) which descends through the deep forest downhill. A .25-mile spur trail leads to the park’s final wonder: Oregon’s largest Sitka Spruce tree known as The Big Spruce. This longer trail is not handicapped accessible.
The area has about 3 miles of hiking total between all of the trails.
Cape Meares is really quite fantastic, with outstanding views, a historic lighthouse, and some very special spruces. In addition, volunteers lead whale watching in December and again during Spring Break (end of March) as gray whales migrate past. In spring the cliffs and rocks around Cape Meares are home to nesting seabirds and even Peregrine Falcons. The cape is high enough to get above the summer fog banks, which clear away in September and October to wide-open views. Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint really is a park for all seasons!
If you’re looking for beach access, head to Oceanside Beach a few miles south, which has very easy access. There is no beach access at Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint.
Cautions
There are fences for a reason – stay behind them!
Getting There
The road between the community of Cape Meares and the park has been closed for a few years now, so the only way is via Netarts Bay & Oceanside. Take Hwy 131 (aka Netarts – Oceanside Hwy W) north from Netarts to Oceanside, then turn right onto Cape Meares Loop (aka Bayshore Drive). Turn left onto Cape Meares Lighthouse Rd at the park entrance and follow it to the parking area.
The view looking south from Cape Meares is both easy to reach and supremely satisfying. Cape Lookout juts out into the ocean in the distance.
Cape Meares Seascape
Cape Meares offers several great views looking out over the famous Oregon Coast, but this view looking south from Short Beach all the way to Cape Lookout is one of the most beautiful and iconic on the entire coastline’s 361-mile length. The clear skies, clean air, and bright sun that afternoon brought out the beautiful … Read more
Photographer’s Tip
The lighthouse lens is incredible and popular to photograph. In my opinion the best coastal viewpoint in the park is one near the Octopus Tree. You can walk most of the way around the Octopus Tree, which creates a lot of options for capturing a great shot. A variety of lenses could be useful.
Links
https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=131
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/cape-meares
https://friendsofcapemeareslighthouse.com/home
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/oregon/cape-meares-lighthouse-loop–2
https://www.tillamookbayheritageroute.org/capemeareslighthouse
