Vicinity Location:
About 63 miles west of Portland, OR in the town of Rockaway.
The parking lot is right next to Highway 101. If you are coming from Tillamook, just as you enter Rockaway Beach you will see a sign for Rockaway Beach which is the parking for the trail. If you are heading south, you will see the sign that says old growth cedar trail. The parking lot and trail are on the east side of Highway 101.
There is a bathroom at the trailhead all year long and a water fountain seasonally.
No permits are needed to park.
Length and Elevation:
1.4 miles roundtrip. Elevation at the trailhead is 23 feet. Total gain is 131 feet and loss is 131 feet. Highest elevation is 73 feet and the lowest elevation 20 feet.
Trail Maps:
Topo Map, Download Garmin .gpx file, Open Garmin .gpx file
Trails: Old Growth Cedar Trail
Review: December 5, 2024
This preserve protects the largest remaining example of a coastal cedar wetland, which was once common along the Oregon coast.
Take the boardwalk from the parking lot passing by a marshy area with willows, salal, and sedges.
Walk beneath a canopy branches and continue along the boardwalk where there is also salmonberry, and skunk cabbages
Begin with the trail larger trees are hemlocks and Sitka Spruce trees.
Walking along the boardwalk you come to a junction where if you take a left, you cross a small burbling little creek. There’s also a small trail that goes off to the left, but it is closed at the time of this review due to storm damage. Continue along and you will start to see some cedar trees and the trail ends at a viewing area with a picnic table and some benches within the sound of the burbling creek.
Walking back along the boardwalk you may also catch distant roar of the ocean surf. At the junction, turn left to follow the boardwalk towards the big ceder.
Walking along the boardwalk, there are some non-native plants in here, such as Himalayan blackberry English Ivy, and fuchsia magellanica.
The boardwalk meanders and then drops down and crosses a tiny valley then comes to where a very large cedar tree is. The boardwalk surrounds the tree and there is a sign that says this tree is about 154 feet tall and estimated to be about 1,000 years old and the trunk is about 50 feet in circumference.
As you look up in the branches, you will see that other plants survive by growing on this cedar tree. There are some hemlock trees and Salal growing out of the trunk and evergreen huckleberries are also grow here. There is another picnic table here where you can sit and enjoy the view.
The boardwalk continues to a short distance further past another very large cedar tree, then drops down to a dirt trail. This trail was closed at the time of this review.
Enjoy the walk back, listening to the roar of the ocean surf.
Enjoy the photos!!
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