Elk Run Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Alder Creek Trailhead
- End point: Dean Point
- Hike type: In and out with loop
- Distance: 3.6 miles
- Elevation gain: 35 feet
- High point: 40 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
This level hike makes use of an old vehicle track that crosses coastal wetlands and then follows the base of a forested ridge to a bend in the Nehalem River. Some of the land here is administered by the Lower Nehalem Community Trust. A couple of short loops are possible using rough trails on narrow levees although part of the second loop is under water at high tide. Elk sign is everywhere, and you can scan the area for waterfowl and bald eagles.
Begin the hike by walking around the gate to follow a dike road that also serves as a water pipe and fiberoptic cable conduit. To your right is a dense spruce and cedar bottomland, while on the left is a line alders through which you’ll get some views north across the Lower Nehalem Community Trust’s Alder Creek Farm to Neahkahnie Mountain, Rock Mountain, Angora Peak, West Onion Peak, and Onion Peak. A footbridge takes you over Alder Creek, and a signposted trail junction points to the Elk Run Trail leading off to the right.
This little loop follows a narrow levee that has become thickly overgrown with spruce, evergreen huckleberry, and salal. The trail is regularly maintained; however, watch your step as you negotiate roots and holes in the tread. The driftwood lined shore of Nehalem Bay appears to your right, and a slough channel runs down to the left as you hike between walls of huckleberry and salal. You’ll reach the grassy vehicle track again, where you’ll turn right below a couple of homes in the gated Nehalem Point development.
The track follows the base of a slope under hemlock, spruce, maple, alder, and even a couple of Douglas-firs. At a junction with a paved road that belongs to the newest section of the Nehalem Point development, bear right to descend past a chain gate near a bear crossing sign. A trail, the beginning of the second loop, leads off to the right but once it reaches the bay, it disappears under driftwood and is drowned by high tides.
Keeping to the main track, you’ll hike past salmonberry and sword fern to reach the other end of the second loop. This end is navigable up to a point where it is swamped by the tide. The vehicle track turns around Dean Point, and you’ll get views of islands in the estuary and catch sight of Wheeler across the broad river. The trail ends at Dean Point and the shore of the Nehalem River.
On the return, stick to the vehicle track. You’ll see a little more of the Nehalem Point development as you rise to a gravel road. Bear left here to pass a pump station and cable gate to follow the track back to Tohl Road.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Respect private property
Trip Reports
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Related Discussions / Q&A
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Guidebooks that cover this hike
- none
More Links
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)