Kayaking and Hiking Adventures

  S5 Hike #13 - Big Tree Boardwalk - Rockaway Beach Starting Location:  parking lot off Hwy 101 Point of Interest :  Large Cedar Tree, boardwalk, nature Distance : 0.5 miles each way Difficulty : easy, and accessible Bathrooms:  portapotty Parking : yes, but small lot. Some parking on side of road EV Chargers :  No This is the only sign you get for this hike. It's just after Twin Rocks, before Rockaway Beach. I was lucky enough to get here when it was raining. Pretty hard. I did have my hiking gear, minus my rain pants. So I got pretty wet. However, this is a pretty hike though a dense forest. The boardwalk goes the entire distance, and was in great shape. Honestly, I was almost as interested in the craftmanship of the boardwalk as I was with the sights along the hike. There is a small offshoot of the board walk that goes to an observation platform, but all I could see was underbrush. There were picnic tables, however. When you do get to the tree,...

  S5 Hike #12 - The M Trail Starting Location:  parking lot on Campus Drive across from Aber Hall Point of Interest :  The large concrete M above the University of Montana, Missoula Distance : 3/4 mile each way Difficulty : moderate, due to steepness, decent path with rocks to watch out for. Bathrooms:  flush toilets at base of trail at parking lot Parking : yes, but pay attention to if you need a permit EV Chargers :  No, but some other places around campus. We were in Missoula, helping our daughter move into student housing, and this looked like a fun, Missoula thing to do. Apparently this is a very popular hike. The trail is in good shape. The main issue is the steepness. There are 13 switchbacks to help make the trail manageable, with plenty of places to stop and rest, including some nice benches. While we were there, we saw runners going up and down the trail, families with small kids, and one mom carrying her young son in a backpack. There w...

  S5 Kayak #3 Beaver Creek Starting Location:   Boat Ramp at Brian Booth Day Use Area, just off HWY 101 on the East side, across from Ona Beach Point of Interest :  Estuary wildlife and fauna Distance : Just under 4 river miles, 2 in and back Time on float: about 3 hours Bathrooms:  1 vault toilet at Day Use Area, another at Kayak launch upriver Parking : EV Chargers :  no Rentals:  no This is actually where we went for our first kayak trip with our new kayaks, 4 years ago. We remembered liking the abundant nature, and easy paddle. We put in at the Brian Booth Day use area just off Hwy 101, right across from the Ona Beach State Park. If you park at Ona Beach, you can drag your kayak to Beaver Creek, but there's not an official boat ramp. There is also a kayak launch farther down Beaver Creek road. We ended up paddling upstream to that launch, and then back. We had timed the tide so that we got there at slack tide, as high tide was ending, so we would ...

S5 Hike #11 Munson Creek Falls Starting Location:  parking lot at end of gravel road off of Hwy 101 near Tillamook. Point of Interest :  waterfall (tallest in coast range) Distance : 1/4 mile each way Difficulty : Easy, a bit steep in places. Not sure what trail looks like when wet. Bathrooms:  port a potty Parking : yes, small gravel lot EV Chargers :  No I've seen the signs for this State Natural Site every time we've gone to Tillamook, but never stopped until now. I was driving alone, so that helped. I turned off Hwy 101 just south of Tillamook, in Pleasant Valley. The hike is very short, only 1/4 mile. The whole time there's a small creek babbling alongside the trail, and the forest vegetation was very lush and green, which made it a bit difficult to see the waterfall. It's a tall one, over 300 feet, and apparently the tallest in the Coast Range.  There are 2 vantage points you can stop at for a view. The last one on the trail isn't that much clos...

S5 - Kayak #2 Big Creek Reservoir, Newport Starting Location: Boat Ramp at start of Big Creek Reservoir #2 Point of Interest : flatwater, waterfowl, fishing Distance : Decent sized lake, narrow, just under a mile long. Time on float : up to you. Bathrooms : 1 port a potty Parking : Minimal, gravel EV Chargers : No  Rentals : No Big Creek road is just to the right as you are heading out of Newport to the North. If you follow it, you come to a dead end sign, and then a gravel road that heads off to the left along the reservoir. Yes, this is the right way to go. The road is gravel, but in good repair, but it gets narrow in places, where 2 cars going opposite directions would have issues. Eventually, after about a mile, you get to this small gravel boat launch area. We were here on a Monday afternoon, so not many people were here, no boaters, just a few fishermen. The lake is quiet (no motors), with lots of nature to enjoy. There are quite a few spots you could pull up to if you want...

  Moonshine Park Starting Location:  Our Campsite B6 Point of Interest  :   views, waterfall Length of hike:  .2 mile loop Level :  Easy - paved trail until going down to the river Bathrooms :  yes, flush, clean, with showers (free) Parking :  Day Use or at campsite EV Chargers:   No Firewood : yes $7 a bundle We returned to Moonshine Park right after the 4th of July weekend. We were lucky to get a campsite for 2 days, Saturday and Sunday. Last time we were here, we did not take time to try out the 2 swimming holes. That was our goal this time, and it was so worth it.  The water was cool, but we got used to it pretty quickly. It's an easy swim over to the waterfall, where you can get behind it a bit. There wasn't a lot of water coming down, but it was much colder than the river. There's another swimming hole upriver a short walk. Quite a few people were coming down river in tubes and floaties. I'm not sure where they were putting in...