A Baker Beach Day Hike

One cold, frosty morning in February, my family woke up early, not minding the wintry weather, because we were headed for the ocean. As we crossed over the coastal mountain range, it became sunnier, and warmer, and before we knew it, we were in Florence and it was 60 degrees outside! We decided to explore a part of the beach we had never been to before, and held a long-standing curiosity about, right at the head of the Oregon Dunes where the shore rises up into rocky cliffs to the north. We turned off on a road called Baker Beach Road, figuring that this would put us in the general area we were aiming for. We were pleasantly surprised to find a Siuslaw National Forest trailhead and camping area that we hadn’t known about. There was no sign on the highway, and only a National Forest sign was posted at the end of the dead-end road. It was mostly an equestrian campground, but it looked like a potentially good camping spot to file away for future trip ideas. We saw a sign for the Lily Lake Trail, Berry Creek Trail and Baker Beach Trail, and headed off with a backpack and snacks for the afternoon.

We followed the Lily Lake and Berry Creek Loops to the North, along a sandy path through the dune grass right along the edge of the coastal pine forest. Signs of early spring were abundant with the pussy willows in bloom along the edges of the dune ponds and marshes, and little birds singing from the brush and treetops. All along the trail, little green plants were peeking up out of the sand. After walking a ways, we came to the end of the dunes where they opened up at the mouth of Berry Creek. We decided to take a side trail along the edge of the shallow creek and followed it down to the shore.

We spent the afternoon playing at the edge of the dunes, and watching the occasional horseback riders go by at the edge of the sea. The diversity of this spot was impressive, with the dunes, the beach, the creek, the dune ponds and the cliffs and caves to explore. It looked like the hikes around the edge of the lake and off to the south into open dunes would be good ones. There was busy wildlife activity everywhere we looked, and we found several tiny trails of animal and bird tracks, including what we think were mouse tracks along the edge of the beach grass.

We kicked off our shoes and ran barefoot in the warm sand with the spring-like breezes and Sunshine on our faces. It was hard to imagine that it was actually February and that it was 20 degrees and frozen that morning back at our house. This little glimpse of spring was a welcome break from grey Oregon winter time. This is how we get through the winters here. It’s true that they are wet, foggy and cloudy, but they are also mild, and in January and February we often get some sunny days.

After we had run, slid, splashed, and played to our hearts content, we meandered back to the trail and headed out. We were fortified with sunshine and very happy to have found a new favorite beach.

Directions: About 5.5 miles North of Florence on Highway 101, turn west on Baker Beach Road and follow to the end. The Baker Beach Trails can make a seven mile hike in all, and the Lily Lake Trail is an easy one-mile loop, great for smaller children. This is a day use fee site where USFS recreation passes are honored. There are also five campsites with vault toilets, picnic tables, and fire rings for about 10$ per night.

A Note: Playing at the edge of the dunes is a lot of fun, but I would recommend staying on the trails and off the dunes March through September during Snowy Plover nesting season. You may have noticed all the Snowy Plover signs at the dunes, and if you are curious about this habitat restoration effort, go to http://www.westernsnowyplover.org/ .