Camping at Cape Perpetua: Hiking Old-Growth Forests and Exploring Tide Pools
On this three-day camping trip, we explored Cape Perpetua’s old-growth forest, rugged coastline, and tide pools at Strawberry Hill.
Trip planning resources
- Cape Perpetua campground
- Siuslaw National Forest: Cape Perpetua Scenic Area
- Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint
In 2014, Travel Oregon created a new tourism campaign called the Seven Wonders of Oregon. As a guide book author, I decided to write a hiking book based on the best hikes offered in each area. With the entire Oregon Coast listed as one of the wonders, I needed to check out a few areas I hadn’t explored before so I could cover more of the coast in the book. I led this trip with a group of friends through Meetup.
Cape Perpetua’s dramatic rocky coastline includes pound surfing features like Thor’s Well, Devils Churn, and Spouting Horn – all accessible via short trails from the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area Visitor Center. This area is also known for some of the best remaining old-growth forest on the Oregon Coast, and that was my main inspiration for camping here. As if all of that wasn’t enough, some of the best tide pools on the Oregon Coast are located nearby, so we took the time to explore several via short drives from the campground.
Cape Perpetua campground
Trails lead from the campground to the Visitor Center and the coastline, so it’s the perfect place to stay for exploring the incredible scenery of this area. With six people in our group, we booked three campsites to make sure we’d have room for all of our tents.
After setting up camp, we headed to the Visitor Center to check out the exhibits and learn more about the area’s history and natural features.
Coastline Features
From the Visitors Center, we took short trails to the coastline to check out the pounding surf at Devils Churn, Thors Well and Spouting Horn.
Old-Growth Forest Hike
On the next day of our trip, we did a loop hike on the Cook’s Ridge and Gwynn Creek Trails. This moderate hike is 6.3 miles with 1,200 feet of elevation gain and features some of the prettiest coastal forest I’ve ever seen.
Tide pools
On the last day of our trip, we explored tide pools at Cape Perpetua and Strawberry Hill. I’d never seen purple sea urchins before this trip… they were everywhere!
Strawberry Hill
After checking out Cape Perpetua at low tide, we drove a few miles south to Strawberry Hill – one of the best areas for tide pools on the Oregon Coast. Harbor seals were hanging out on rocky islands while we explored the coastline here.
Purple sea urchins and sea anemones
This pink-tinged sea anemone is my favorite type.
Green sea anemones covering the rocky shelfs of the coastline at low tide.
