North Island Viewpoint

The North Island Viewpoint is a short walk from the car but leads to incredible views of the rugged Oregon coast. Trails wander shortly through a lush coastal forest before emerging into an open basin high above the ocean. Here tall green grasses attempt to camouflage the trail. After another few hundred feet through this cliff side basin the trail heads for a small patch of forest sitting alone on a rocky point. A tiny loop sits at the top where multiple phenomenal views exist, both to the north and the south. China Beach is visible stretching northward toward the rocks of Natural Bridges Viewpoint. If extra time and energy is available, consider a walk down to this remote beach.

In the 1930s the Oregon Coast Highway was completed. Long before this, however, Native Americans carved trails along the coast in order to trade and hunt. Following them were settlers and fortune seekers who walked some of the same beaten paths. It wasn't until the 1980s that the official Oregon Coast Trail was completed, allowing modern adventurers to follow the entire Oregon coast on foot. Some of the path to North Island Viewpoint is part of the Oregon Coast Trail. While you stroll along this trail imagine what it would be like walking many miles along this coast before roads were ever built.