Ecola Point to Tillamook Head

By -
Great views and a perfect day for a run

I spent the long, Fourth of July holiday weekend in Manzanita with family. Usually I run Cape Falcon, but this time I decided to switch things up a bit and run up Tillamook Head in Ecola State Park. My husband, his brother and his father came along to hike, and my brother-in-law's wife, Shetha, joined me for a run.

Tillamook Lighthouse in the distance

Sea stacks and an arch

The problem is that the tons of other people at the coast for the same reason had the same idea. The park was packed. So full, in fact, that we had to park at Ecola Point instead of Indian Beach, where I normally start. Because of that, we ran a mile and a half of the Coast Trail I had never been on before-- up and down bluffs, through forest and past amazing sea stack views.

Gorgeous coastal views

Oregon Coast Trail

Once at the Indian Beach picnic area, we (accidentally) took the old road up. It's not exactly scenic, but it's shady and cool(er), and it's graded so it's runnable. At the top of Tillamook Head, we took in the view of Terrible Tilly before continuing north on the Coast Trail.

Indian Beach and Terrible Tilly

South Jetty in the distance

Once we had run for an hour, we turned around and headed back. This time we made sure to take the Clatsop Loop between Tillamook Head and Indian Beach-- it zig-zags along the edge for gorgeous views and makes for some fun downhill running. We stopped for photos, and were happy to find the guys just getting settled into the car. I think our run ended up just over nine miles, and now I know that parking at Ecola Point is the way to go.

Shetha and another beautiful beach

William Sullivan's map of Ecola State Park

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

24 for 2024

By -
Image
Top of Saltzman 2024   Susan and I decided to run 24 miles to kick off 2024. As I was looking through our previous routes, I found one called ' 24 mile taper run ', which seemed perfect - how hard can a taper run be? I didn't scrutinize the route closely. Nine miles in, I realized we had to run from the bottom to the very top of Saltzman. Who does that as part of a taper? Apparently, we did, ten years ago. Upon reaching the summit, I had Susan take a photo in the same spot as before. It felt great to push ourselves, which we plan to continue in 2024. Same route, different year -- 2014 Honesty, I love that we are still running routes we created 10 years ago, may be a bit slower though but who cares. I love that for us! 
Read more

Three days in Wonderland

By -
Image
Mt Rainier, glaciers, alpine forests, and a trail through the heart of it all 16-18 Aug 2015 No run has reshaped the borders of my soul like circumnavigating Mt Rainier. No run has infiltrated my dreams like spending three days just running and not much else, in the middle of the longest summer in the Pacific Northwest's recent memory. No run has made me fall so deeply in love with the magical combination of mountains, wilderness, and summertime. Like all of our great long runs, Ann researched and planned this one. She discovered that most people run the 93-mile Wonderland Trail clockwise, and that we could split the route into three days with a cushy hotel stay each night. We, however, would run the route counterclockwise to start with the longest day of running first. We had a beer with our friend Heather McGrath, who had run around Rainier the previous year, to hear more about her trip, get tips, and make sure that our plan wasn't too crazy.
Read more

Deception Pass 25k: Race Review

By -
Image
Welcome back to our blog and our only race review of 2023! This time, we're sharing our experience at the Deception Pass 25k – a true PNW trail runner's dream in the heart of Deception Pass State Park.  A Weather Miracle! We feel incredibly fortunate about the weather during the race. Having known the 50k runners battled through some pretty tough conditions the day before, we geared up for the worst. But, as luck would have it, we were greeted with near-perfect weather on race day. Clear skies, gentle breezes, and just the right amount of sunshine made our run more enjoyable than we could have hoped for. Lollipop Loops: A Sweet Surprise One of the most exciting aspects of the Deception Pass 25k is its infamous 'lollipop loops'. These trails, winding and unpredictable, add an element of surprise and fun that you don't often find in other races. Every twist and turn brought a new landscape into view; we ran through rocky trails, dense forest and a seaweed laden beach...
Read more