Cycling the Pacific Northwest (Pt. 1)
Seafood, bike trails, and cheese!
We were fortunate enough to spend 9 days in Oregon and Washington a couple weeks ago during mid-October. We saw some fall colors, enjoyed cooler temperatures, got to visit our college student at OSU, and went on a couple of amazing trail rides along the coast. Best of all, it was the shoulder season so there were no touristy crowds anywhere we went.
The first bike ride we did was in Long Beach, Washington. We arrived there on a Tuesday after driving up from Corvallis, Oregon. Along the way we stopped at several beach towns as well as the Tillamook Creamery, where we got to see massive amounts of cheese being made and packaged. We also and ate lunch there and bought some cheese for the road, of course. It’s a nice facility and worth the stop.
Another highlight of this travel day was stopping in Cannon Beach, Oregon and seeing Haystack Rock, which is a sea stack (a vertical column of volcanic rock caused by erosion from waves.1) It was really interesting to see this feature up close. It’s an unusually large sea stack and it’s very close to shore so it’s a pretty big attraction. The tide pools near it were fascinating, with rocks crusted with interesting sea creatures, including starfish (see below). It was just such a stunning environment and not like anything we see in Colorado!
On the drive north to Long Beach, Washington we took Hwy 101. We had purchased the 5-day Oregon Pacific Coast Passport for $10, so we also stopped at Bob Straub State Park near Pacific City, Nehalem Bay State Park, and Ecola State Park, hiking a bit and taking in the beach scenery at each. Before we crossed the state line into Washington, we also stopped at the town of Seaside, Oregon where we had some pretty average clam chowder at a touristy chain called Mo’s. We rolled into Long Beach, Washington mid-afternoon. After checking into our hotel, we sought out fresh seafood and had a really nice dinner at Drop Anchor Seafood and Grill. They restored our faith in clam chowder. We also enjoyed a bucket of local steamer clams, some fried oysters, and Dungeness crab.
We hadn’t rented bikes ahead of time, so the next morning we walked over to a rental shop near the hotel only to find out that they were closed until the weekend. A slight panic overcame me since our plan for the day was to explore the Discovery Trail. Maybe shoulder season was giving us the COLD shoulder. Fortunately, the next place we tried, Tsunami Cycle, had just what we needed! We rented two non-electric 9-speed bikes. Even though they had rubber belts instead of normal chains, they rode very comfortably and smoothly. This place included water bottle holders and helmets at no extra change. Sweet! They were really friendly, helpful, and. just a top-notch shop.
The Discovery Trail is about 8 miles long and runs north-south along the shoreline. It’s fully paved and tells some of the story of Lewis and Clark’s journey, detailing their time in this area. We began our ride just outside of our hotel in Long Beach where there’s a long boardwalk that takes you through the sand dunes. We first headed south toward the North Head Lighthouse. The trail was twisty and fun and very smooth, winding its way through the dunes with little peeks of the beautiful coastline here and there.
The trail was nearly empty of other cyclists (or pedestrians) and and after a few miles it eventually enters a forested area as you approach Cape Disappointment State Park. It becomes surprisingly hilly as you near the lighthouse. At one point, it has a 9% grade, but it doesn’t last long. In this densely forested environment, you could even forget that you’re near the beach.
Eventually you cross a two-lane road and make your way toward the North Head Lighthouse where you’re asked to walk your bike for the last stretch. This area is called Beard’s Hollow and the views here are stunning and dramatic. There is another lighthouse a few miles south of here called Cape Disappointment and we would have loved to have seen it, but the trail to get there is for hiking only.
Since this is the southern terminus of the Discovery Trail, we turned around and headed back toward Long Beach. Part way back there is an option to cycle a little ways east to the town of Ilwaco. We chose not to do that and instead headed to lunch in Long Beach. After lunch we continued north on the path. The last stretch of the northern section is through several miles of dunes with little shade and some beach views. The southern end of the trail was definitely the most fun in terms of variety and scenery, but we did both ends because we wanted to see it all. By the time we returned our bikes, we had cycled 18 miles and seen the entire trail from end to end.
Back at the hotel we celebrated our successful journey with a platter of Tillamook cheese!
Stay tuned for Part 2 where we take Northern Washington by storm, embark on another (much wetter) trail riding adventure, and have a run-in with some mysterious, slimy windshield goo.
The ride maps: the first stretch was the south end before lunch. The second map is of the north end.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_(geology)
I want to take the Tillamook Cheese tour! Love all the pics. The starfish one was my favorite, strangely. They look like stuffies!
Also, will part 2 explain why the one area is called The Cape of Disappointment?? 😀