Devils Punchbowl Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Devils Punchbowl Trailhead
- End point:Devils Punchbowl
- Trail log: Trail Log
- Hike type: Out and back
- Distance: 1.8 miles
- Elevation gain: 100 feet
- High point: 80 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: Year round
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Yes
Contents |
Hike Description
This isn't as much as hike as a pleasant seaside stroll. The interior of Devils Punchbowl is only safe at low tide and anyone caught there in high water would surely be killed. Keep this in mind when scheduling your hike. See the Beverly Beach-Moolack Beach Hike if you want a longer walk from the same trailhead.
From the Devils Punchbowl Trailhead, hike down the paved, if steep trail about 1/10 of a mile to the beach. This trail has seen better days and part of the pavement is gone, but it's still wide and perfectly usable by any hiker.
Once your on the beach head left. The upper area of the beach is bare sand, usually wet, so walking is rarely a problem. There are all sorts of odd rock formations and a couple of small sea caves. The effects of wave action are everywhere. You'll soon come to the point that holds the Devils Punchbowl and you'll see the large rock arch that forms a gateway for hikers at low tide and the surf at high tide. The interior of the Punchbowl is littered with broken rocks that have fallen from the ceiling.
Heading back past the access trail, pass a small waterfall dropping onto the beach. Then walk out onto wave-cut platforms to view more tide pools. Round a point and walk out on a rocky, seaweed cloaked flat to view about seals sunning themselves with Otter Crest and Cape Foulweather looming in the background. There are two beaches here, only accessible at low tide, with a total of three waterfalls cascading down on to them. The first beach is fronted by a platform of eel grass, while the northern beach, just below Otter Crest, is graveled.
Walk back up to the parking area and then go right to the picnic area at the Devils Punchbowl Viewpoint. As it rounds salad thickets, a narrow, paved trail gives views south of the beautiful expanses of Beverly Beach and Moolack Beack to the Yaquina Head Light. Look out for a colony of ground squirrels that lives here. Surfers indulge in the waves at the northern end of Beverly Beach. The trail rounds the headland, passing begging squirrels. There’s a view down into to maw of the Devils Punchbowl; then get views north across the beaches and wave-cut platforms you have just visited.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Green Trails Maps: Oregon Coast North #356SX
Regulations or restrictions, etc
- None
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Devils Punchbowl Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Devils Punchbowl Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- 120 Hikes on the Oregon Coast by Bonnie Henderson
- Day Hiking: Oregon Coast by Bonnie Henderson
- Exploring the Oregon Coast Trail by Connie Soper
- 100 Hikes: Oregon Coast by William L. Sullivan
- Oregon Beaches: A Traveler's Companion by John Shewey
- Oregon Campgrounds Hiking Guide by Rhonda & George Ostertag
- Best Easy Day Hikes: Oregon's North Coast by Lizann Dunegan
- Hiking the Oregon Coast by Lizann Dunegan
- Oregon Coast Camping & Hiking by Tom Stienstra & Sean Patrick Hill
- Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
- Oregon Coast Hikes by Paul M. Williams
- The Oregon Coast Trail Guide by Jon Kenneke (eBook)
- Oregon Coast Trail: Hiking Inn to Inn by Jack D. Remington
- Oregon's Best Coastal Beaches by Dick Trout
- Hiking Oregon's Geology by Ellen Morris Bishop
- Oregon State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide by Jan Bannan
More Links
- Devils Punchbowl State Natural Area (Oregon State Parks)
- Origin of an Oregon Coast Landmark: Devil's Punchbowl (Beach Connection)
- Devils Punch Bowl State Natural Area (Wikipedia)
- Packing a Punch (Coast Explorer)
Contributors
- Stevefromdodge (creator)
- bobcat