Oregon coast: Samuel Boardman State Scenic Corridor

Looking north up the coast from House Rock view point. That appears to be Whaleshead Rock in the distance with berries in the foreground and layers of young and mature evergreens in between.

July 7, 2015. Just north of Harris Beach is the 12-mile stretch of the southern Oregon coast known as the Samuel Boardman State Scenic Corridor. Most of the scenic area is the rocky coastline between U.S. Highway 101 and the sea, mostly accessible from hiking trails. With limited hiker capacity, we did the tour by car. We stopped at nearly every beach, trail, and overlook. We had stopped at the Lone Ranch Beach picnic area in 2014; so our first stop on this trip was the Cape Ferrelo lookout, where we spent a good amount of time photographing non-native wildflowers like dandelions, oxeye daisies, and salal berry. There was also common yarrow, and a flowering plant with a purple perianth (petals and/or sepals) and a maroon cone-shaped center that I can't identify to even the broadest taxa using photographs and web sites, no matter how hard I try. I found out there are apps for identifying plants in the field, one I plan on getting for the next trip. Any botanists viewing this blog are invited to give identification of this interesting plant a try.

Common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

Cape Ferrelo

The highlights of our second run up the Samuel Boardman State Scenic Corridor were two particular iconic stopping points - the Whaleshead viewpoint and Arch Rock. We first took in the view of the northern half of the scenic corridor from the House Rock viewpoint (photo on top) then headed up to Whaleshead.

I tend to see patterns in the rocks on these rugged coastlines, and I can clearly see the whale shape of Whaleshead Rock. While the northern part of the rock represents the head, the southern tip has the shape of its fluke-like tail. Also looking closely, I see a small rock shaped like a sea lion looking up at the whale near what appears to be the middle of its large form. It might take some imagination, but that is one of the wonders of nature's art--every eye that beholds it may see it differently. We took a walk down to Whaleshead beach to enjoy the enormity of the rock formations from the beach perspective. Just north of the whale's head is a tall, cone-shaped rock--the combination of the two making this area stand out in this coastal landscape.

Whaleshead Rock from the viewpoint

Vegetated sea stack

Then we headed north to Arch Rock. From the highway, there is a mellow trail that mom could handle that takes you out along the green and rocky bluff to view the sea stacks and vegetated rock islands, pristine beach, and other spectacular scenery to the seaward edge where Arch Rock prominently stands. This was written up as one of Oregon's best easy hikes. And I am writing it up as one the most beautiful easy hikes I've ever been on. I'll let the photos speak more than the words, but even the photographs can't match the glory of being there.

Arch Rock appears like a monument from behind the lush young spruce forest

A pristine beach extending south from the Arch Rock bluff--I'd venture to guess where no human feet touch the sand

Churning yet calm--the ocean water interacting with Arch Rock

That was just the car tour suitable for an 83-year-old and done in one afternoon. My imagination goes wild when I think of the day I revisit this scenic corridor with more time and a hiking partner and experience this wonderland from the perspective of its great trails, including segments of the Oregon Coast Trail. We ended the day in Gold Beach, once again splurging on the wonderfully priced and located Gold Beach Inn. Just a note that the owners of this inn and the Ireland Rustic Lodges were facing bad reviews rigged by the town's competition. Don't let those reviews fool you. Every time I drive this coast I stay at that hotel. It's the best price-value point in the area and comes with beachfront hot jacuzzis that satisfied an already happy soul after dining on a nice gourmet pizza down the road at the Panther's Den.

To bring you further into the experience, I'll leave you with a little video taken from the Arch Rock trail. However, being there is the real experience that I could never quite capture with my blogging and media.