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| 2013 TILLAMOOK AREA VISITOR GUIDE |
DISCOVER
| 3
kahnie Mountain trail has historical significance
and a beautiful ocean view to boot. The 3-mile
climb to the summit is steep, with the trail gain-
ing 900 feet of elevation to an expansive view of
the ocean and many miles of shoreline. If you like,
you can continue another 2 miles to
Oswald West
State Park
. The trailhead is located a few miles
north of Manzanita on the east side of Highway
101, and is open year-round.
Kings Mountain
This popular trail is located on Highway 6 at
milepost 25, just east of Tillamook. Offering a chal-
lenging hike with a steep incline, advanced hikers
will enjoy the 2776-foot elevation change in the 3
mile trek to the summit. Hikers are often rewarded
with a views of both
Mt. Hood
and the coastline
at the top but should remain
cautious, as the trail can be
dangerous in certain areas.
Through the trail is acces-
sible year round, spring,
summer, and fall are ideal
times to visit. Camping is
also available nearby at the
Elk Creek Campground
. For
mountain conditions, call
(503) 357-2191.
Elk Mountain
The neighboring mountain
to Kings Mountain is a sim-
pler yet rewarding hike. How-
ever don’t underestimate the
exciting this hike offers for
the ambitious. Hikers are able
to hike across a ridge-crest to
Kings Mountain
for a loop
hike of 12 miles that gains
4,100 feet of elevation
.
The ridge is a spectacular hike filled with dramatic
cliffs of thousands of feet from the top of the ridge
to the base of the mountains down near sea level.
Mt. Hebo
Mt. Hebo offers a panoramic view of the ocean
and much of
South Tillamook County
. Located
in the Coast Range, it rises to 3,100 feet. A for-
mer United States Air Force General Surveillance
Radar Station, it is now home to the
Hebo Lake
Campground
and 8-mile Pioneer-Indian Trail. Lo-
cated on the three capes scenic loop near Hebo,
Oregon.
BIRD WATCHING
Submitted by Neal Lemery
Tillamook Bay, the
second largest estuary
on
the Oregon Coast, and the five rivers that flow into
it offer some of the best birding opportunities in
the Pacific Northwest. With its abundant mix of
fresh and salt water, and the fact that half of the bay
are exposed mudflats at low tide, entices a wide
range of migratory bird species to visit.
The bay’s five rivers are not only famous for their
salmon fishing, but also for their many miles of
estuaries and sloughs, prime country for
kayak-
ing and roadside birding
, within a mile or two
of Highway 101. Boat ramps are plentiful and are
in the midst of miles of sloughs and river chan-
nels, offering the birder a wilder-
ness birding experience on every
river, from Garibaldi on the north
end, around to the south end of
Bayocean
, at the hamlet of Cape
Meares.
Cape Meares Lake
of-
fers good sightings of most every
shore bird, including some pe-
lagic species.
According to the 102nd Christ-
mas Bird Count there were ap-
proximately
7,500 waterfowl
of 34 species in and around Til-
lamook Bay. Bald eagles, great
blue herons,
snowy egrets
, os-
preys, brown pelicans, Black-bel-
lied Plovers, Semipalmated Plo-
vers, Whimbrels, Sanderlings,
Dunlins, and Short-billed Dow-
itchers and virtually every spe-
cies of ducks in western North
America are common. The
Great Blue Herons
are
year-round residents at Tillamook Bay.
A drive along Fraser Road west of Tillamook off
the Netarts Highway offers a spectacular stretch of
roadside birding for herons, ospreys, raptors, and
rafts of
ducks
during migrations.
Bayocean Peninsula, which separates Tillamook
Bay from the Pacific Ocean, offers a five mile long
wild forested sandspit, luring the casual hiker to a
rich variety of viewpoints and birding opportuni-
ties.
The
Three Capes
scenic drive offers river and
bayside birding opportunities, access to Bayocean
Peninsula, the peregrines, gulls, and murres of
Cape Meares.
Peregrine falcons
nest near the
Brown Pelicans!
PHOTO COURTESY CIEl dOwnIng