Oceanview Hiking - God’s Thumb and The Knoll

Oceanview Hiking – God’s Thumb and The Knoll

Radd Icenoggle

June 3, 2021

Hiking 2021,Oregon 2021

We started out this glorious Oregon coast morning with another bucket list hike, God’s Thumb and the Knoll. Located in Siuslaw National Forest, a prominent basalt dike formed during the late Eocene covered with grass on one side and a sheer cliff on the other, the God’s Thumb juts out into the crashing waves of the Pacific. The name alone, God’s Thumb, was more than intriguing, and after this hike, wouldn’t you know it, we felt blessed to have a place like this to ourselves on an absolutely perfect day.

The Hike

Starting at the deserted cul de sac at the end of Devils Lake Boulevard, we were the lone car (always a great sign). The hike starts up along an old road bed under red alder and Sitka spruce with thickets of blackberry, salmonberry, and elderberry. Every guide and trail report will say the trail can be muddy, and on this day, we were muddin’, fo sure.

Vida found a new Friend

After making it onto the ridge, we could see the Salmon River estuary through the trees. We steeply drop down the slope to enter an expansive alder-lined meadow. The trail crosses the idyllic meadow and rises up a grassy hillside.

The main trail crested the open hill and there was our first spectacular view of God’s Thumb with the Pacific Ocean beyond. We took it in a while before tackling the final section of the trail to God’s Thumb itself.

Summiting God’s Thumb may not be for everyone. The very narrow trail skirts the cliffside that made out hearts skipped at least one beat.

Note that this part of the trail is highly exposed, with steep drop-offs or cliffs to either side. It’s also extremely eroded in parts, and can often be very muddy. Exercise common sense and caution, especially if children or dogs are part of your party. People have had to be rescued from this part of the trail!

The climb up to the summit is a bit “crumbly,” and pretty steep. The good news is that it’s quite short, so we tackled it with gusto…Vida might have turned it into a mini-workout.

From up top, we got some stunning views of Cascade Head to the north and Lincoln Beach to the south. At the bottom, the waves topple over a craggy coastline.

The small cove below was created when the dike was breached and wave action began to rapidly gouge out the much softer siltstone and claystone of the Nestucca Formation, which the dike had been protecting. An even larger cove, formed in the same way, is just north of this one. Various stacks and rocks scattered below you near a secluded beach preview the eventual fate of God’s Thumb, which will become an isolated sea stack in time.

Flora of God’s Thumb

Shore Pine - Pinus contorta — Shore Pine – Pinus contorta

Coastal Manroot - Marah oregana — Coastal Manroot – Marah oregana

Hairy-stemmed Checker-Mallow - Sidalcea hirtipes — Hairy-stemmed Checker-Mallow – Sidalcea hirtipes

Edible Thistle - Cirsium edule — Edible Thistle – Cirsium edule

Salal - Gaultheria shallon — Salal – Gaultheria shallon

Seaside Bittercress - Cardamine angulata — Seaside Bittercress – Cardamine angulata

Broadleaf Lupine - Lupinus latifolius — Broadleaf Lupine – Lupinus latifolius

Creeping Buttercup - Ranunculus repens — Creeping Buttercup – Ranunculus repens

Oyster Mushroom - Pleurotus ostreatus — Oyster Mushroom – Pleurotus ostreatus

Spreading Wood Fern - Dryopteris expansa — Spreading Wood Fern – Dryopteris expansa

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Hiking 2021,Oregon 2021