While nearby Cannon Beach teems with hordes of people, their children, and their dogs, Crescent Beach is a secluded little beach, hemmed in by headlands, Ecola Point and Chapman Point. The good thing is the masses are too lazy to take the short 1.25 mile hike with a few muddy sections and some steep sections through the forest to the sand and sea stacks below.
The Hike
The Crescent Beach Trail begins with an ominous sign stating “Expert Hikers Only”. Well, guess we’re expert hikers this evening. We walked up some steps and then drop into the lush woods of Sitka spruce and alder. The mud in the trail was dotted with elk and deer tracks.
Emerging at a clifftop viewpoint, we caught first great views of Crescent Beach. The trail ran into a lush gully where we crossed a creek on a plank and continued up into dense salal and spruce woods. Now comes the slippery, steep portion with 3 switchbacks and down some wooden steps to the beach.
With the tide being low, we explored around a series of pocket beaches. Whimbrels and Black Oystercatchers were actively feeding and they obliged for a few photographs.
We just enjoyed the beach and wandered around quite aimlessly, just being together. After mentioning that he never finds intact sand dollars, both Radd and Vida found a great sand dollar each.