| Oregon Coast Trail | |
|---|---|
 The Oregon Coast Trail at Floras Lake, looking north to the BLM's New River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) | |
| Length | 425 mi (684 km) |
| Location | Pacific Ocean coast of Oregon, United States |
| Trailheads | Mouth of the Columbia River/California border |
| Use | Hiking |
| Difficulty | Easy to moderate |
The Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) is a long-distance hiking route along the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of Oregon in the United States. It follows the coast of Oregon from the mouth of the Columbia River to the California border south of Brookings.[1]
The trail was envisioned in 1959 by Samuel N. Dicken, a University of Oregon geography professor, approved in 1971 by the Oregon Recreation Trails Advisory Council and developed and managed by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department as part of the state park system of Oregon.[1] The official coastal guide gives a length of 382 miles (615 km). About 39 percent of the route is on the beach, 41 percent is on paved road, and 20 percent is on trail and dirt roads. Private ferries can however be arranged at some estuaries to shortcut road segments. Walked in its entirety, linking each trail/beach section, the distance is approximately 425 miles.
A chief feature of the trail are the public beaches created in 1967 via the Oregon Beach Bill, which formalized the public nature of the coastal beaches since the first such law was passed in 1913.[2] Many of the locations, particularly on the southern portion, are remote and isolated. The Oregon coast is bordered by a temperate rainforest,[3] much of which is now second or third growth.
The difficulty of the trail ranges from easy to moderate, with elevation changes of up to a few hundred feet.[4]
- ^ a b "Oregon Coast Trail Maps". Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
- ^ Greg Johnston (June 19, 2003). "The Oregon shore is blessed with beauty". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ "The Oregon Coast". Oregon Travel Regions. Go Northwest. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ Nancy Prichard (May 9, 2001). "Oregon Coast Trail". Great Outdoors. Retrieved March 2, 2009.