Cape Perpetua

Cook's Ridge Hike

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There are three ways to hike the Cook's Ridge Trail in Cape Perpetua Scenic Area: "up"about 2.4 miles from the visitors' center parking area to Cook's Ridge/Gwynn's Creek/Cummins Creek junction, or "down" the same distance from the junction, after hiking "up" either the Cummins Creek or Gwynn's Creek Trails for about 4 miles. We prefer to hike "down" Cook's Ridge as it is a relentless ascent from the parking area.

Cook's Ridge does not have the variety of wildflowers that Cummins Creek and Gwynn's Creek does but blankets of Siberian Lettuce cover the open areas near the junction in the spring. Although Cape Perpetua's trails are not considered significant mushroom picking spots, in late summer oyster and newly emerging chanterelle mushrooms appear.

Oyster Mushroom

Chanterelle

Siberian Lettuce

Soon we are deep in sword ferns, Spruce, Western, Hemlock and Douglas Fir casting shadows on the trail.

There is usually a slight breeze at the ridge. The trail passes in and out of the shade, opens up in spots, ferns and trees enclosing it again. Cape Perpetua's trails are always different in color and density each time one hikes, depending on the season and weather. We watch the trail closely as erosion has exposed tree roots that can cause serious falls. Snags beside the trail attest to the ferocity of winter storms on the ridge, yet these are some of the best maintained trails on the coast.

After about an hour we pass through a hemlock forest with hundreds of trees with the tell-tale delicate fern-like branches in varying sizes growing beside and hanging over the trail. The reason for the growth of all the trees is clear when one sees hemlock cones laying all over the trail and forest floor.

Not too long after leaving the hemlock forest we come to the last leg of the trail that leads to back to the visitors' parking area and our car.

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