Redwoods National Park and the Oregon Coast
Between visa issues and work, we haven't been able to travel much in 2010. The first trip of the year was to drive up the Oregon coast and also check out Redwoods National Park over the July 4-6 weekend. I'm not sure why we haven't made this trip before and it turned out to be spectacular.
On the first day, we hiked the Boy Scout Trail in Redwoods National Park, and I don't normally enjoy tree hikes, but this particular one was quite good --- seemingly endless rows of giant redwoods stretch out in the distance with the evening light dappling through onto a bed of ferns.
The next day, we did a number of short day hikes in the Samuel Boardman State Parks, and we enjoyed all the hikes. The most memorable hike there was the one to Whaleshead beach where we bushwhacked down a use trail to the beach, not knowing till we arrived that we were at the wrong parking lot, and the actual parking lot was next to the beach. Nevertheless, the bushwhack trail provided better views than the regular route.
We ended the day further North hiking the John Dellenback Trail in the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area. This hike is highly recommended and is one of the best dune/ocean hikes that we've done. You first hike over some large sand dunes with nice views, and then through half a mile of coastal forest where you're in sort of a tunnel through the trees before finally emerging suddenly onto a beautiful and deserted beach. We were a little pressed for time on that hike since we weren't aware that the parking lot closed at 7 pm and we arrived rather late. On the drive back, we drove through Medford just in time to catch the complete July 4th fireworks display and a fitting end to this short trip.
