Bayocean Peninsula is a 7.5 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Tillamook, Oregon that offers the chance to see wildlife and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
This hike on Tillamook Spit can take you all day - but you'll see lots of different habitat while you're there. Starting off at the parking lot, you'll pass through bulrush tidal flats. The bulrushes and other plants that grow here are incredibly productive, able to hold together a loose, sandy sediment with masses of roots. Look offshore in the bay for crab boats and other fishermen. As you head out onto the end of the spit, the scenery changes from the tidal flats and inner Tillamook Bay to a sandy, wave scoured point. Indeed, the jetty at the end of the spit keeps the sand from closing off the shipping channel during large storms. Heading back on the ocean side of the spit, you'll see the typical flat Pacific Northwest beach, able to take the huge waves of winter. Finally, after cutting back across the dunes to the road, you'll come back on the high side of the dike and find a freshwater pond, Cape Meares Lake. The area surrounding this pond is frequented by elk coming down from the hills to feast on tidal flat grasses.
January 9, 2021January 9, 2021January 9, 2021January 4, 2021Great easy hike, beautiful views
January 2, 2021Well marked and maintained. We knew it would be rainy and windy, so we didn’t stay long on the beach side, but it ended up being a perfect New Year’s Day hike anyway.
December 29, 2020Beautiful views, well groomed trails, and a clean beach!
December 25, 2020Did the whole loop on a gorgeous, clear, sunny day! Parking lot was full but lots of space to spread out along the trail so it never felt crowded. The ocean side was particularly empty, especially near the end of the peninsula. There is a cool historical sign on the Bay side talking about the history of Bayocean town. One trail marker points to the townsite.
December 13, 2020It helps that is was a glorious, clear, sunny day but the trail is a great exploration anyways. From the parking lot you can go through the grass straight to the beach or walk the gravel trail along the bay, up to the jetty and then land at the beach.
December 7, 2020gorgeous beach, hardly any people and very clean. Easy 7.5 miles, definitely recommend.
November 28, 2020Even though there were lots of cars, it was easy to find somewhere isolated once on the trail. The main "road" on the east side of the peninsula is busier. I love how many trails cut through to the ocean side, if you take the west trail versus the road, you can walk along the beach as far as you want and then find a trail to cut through and loop back to the parking lot. Very beautiful scenery too, it was an amazing sunset and night hike.
November 11, 2020Well groomed, clean, visually varied, and nature packed trail with lots of options to turn back earlier and biking options too!
November 9, 2020Such a gem. Did the whole loop, not crowded at all. I went on a sunny day and the views were lovely. Miles of beautiful sandy beaches totally to myself.
November 8, 2020This is a long walk but flat throughout. We started on the East side of the peninsula along the bay, and it's super beautiful and peaceful. We passed others along the trail but there's so much open space that we felt pretty secluded. There are lots of small trails that cut through the brush from the East side to the beach so you can cut the loop shorter going either direction if desired. We walked along the beach the on the entire West side, not sure if that is the official "trail". Either way, I recommend this for a lovely, flat walk with interesting scenery! I also happened to see a group of Elk running down the beach here...amazing!
October 22, 2020The trail is nice and flat clear easy, beautiful views the entire time, thoughI wish I had gotten the bike memo.
October 5, 2020Road is in good condition. High tide today. Oyster harvesters were out in the bay.
September 27, 2020September 20, 2020September 20, 2020September 19, 2020easy trail. wide. dog friendly
September 19, 2020September 13, 2020Foggy. Road is in good condition. Downed tree that is easily passable on foot at mile 2.4. I only hiked 2.55 miles in then turned around. Easy hike.
September 12, 2020I only went 1 mile in today. Smoke from fires has disappeared but fog has rolled in. On nice days the views of the bay are excellent. Flat gravel road.
September 8, 2020Just hiked it today (9/7/20). A really fun trail! Recommend reading the Wikipedia page on bayocean before you go because the history is really interesting. We walked from the parking area up the bay then down the beach and directly back across to the parking area, which was just under 8 miles. Very flat as you can see— we enjoyed starting on the gravel and ended with sand since it’s easy to walk on. The gravel portion overlooks the bay and is beautiful— lots of blackberries right now which are delicious. As I said, the sand was pretty firm down by the water where we walked so it was pretty easy to walk on once you got down there. I wore my hiking boots the whole time, but you also may like bringing a light pair of flip flops or something in your bag if you like walking with your feet in the water. I probably wouldn’t walk long barefoot, only because there were a ton of jellyfish when we were there today. We came upon a starfish and a sand dollar! Really loved this hike and would recommend the full loop :) of note, there are several paths to cut through to the opposite side if you prefer to do more beach or more gravel. If you do the full loop, you have about equal time on each (4 miles on the gravel and 4 miles on the sand). Although there were a few people along the way and some poop here and there, it wasn’t any big deal and was much less of a big deal than we were expecting based on some past reviews. We had the beach pretty much to ourselves the whole time, since bikers can’t go there until later in September (bird nesting restrictions).
September 7, 2020pretty mellow trail. very enjoyable. lots of fishing spots it looks like.
September 6, 2020August 30, 2020Great view of the bay and ocean. Sunny hike for the most part. Boots, hat and sunblock highly recommend. Next time I would take the loop clock wise.
August 30, 2020I really wanted to love this. In fact, I went into it planning to love it. It is an interesting place with an interesting history. However, the gravel was uncomfortable to walk on (even through my Merrell hiking shoes), the views were pretty, but not that great, there was horse manure in the trail. It clocked in at 11.1 miles. We did cross back over to the gravel trail from the beach because my dog was not enjoying the sand. This probably added a lot of distance to it. The highlight was the rocky cove at the back of the peninsula covered in seashells and looking at all the birds along the way. This probably would have been much more fun as a bicyclist rather than a pedestrian. I'm pretty new to hiking and I learned from this that flat does not necessarily equal easy or more fun.
August 27, 2020So, my review is based solely on the backpacking experience, anyone just going for a day hike would have a more enjoyable time. I have done overnight trips on this trail a dozen times over the years and most have been great, even when the weather is not. If you start the loop on the gravel road side, you will come to a nice cove a little over 3 miles in. It's a good spot to stop for lunch and look for agates. Normally after this I would continue around the loop, to the beach side, past the jetty. Shortly after reaching the beach, I found at least 2 miles of the dunes area blocked off this year for nesting shore birds....the dunes area is where the backcountry camping sites are. There are still a few areas you can find to pitch your tent, so this wasn't too much of a downer. However, if hiking the entire loop pay attention to the tides, during high tide it would be impossible to hike without stepping into the prohibited area to avoid the surf. This year any area with grass seemed to also be infested with these black millipedes...hundreds of them congregated on my gear, including in my camp shoes after just an hour. It was a nice night however, very peaceful with plenty of solitude. When I hiked back to my truck at the trailhead the next morning, I noticed a transient camp in the middle of one of the trails connecting the beach to the gravel road, this didn't surprise me and I have seen other signs of this before. Unfortunately at the trailhead I found the toolbox in the bed of my truck had been pried open and my survival gear including a bug out bag and camping stuff stolen. I doubt it's a coincidence that what was taken would be what could be carried by hand with the heaviest items left behind. This is a pretty area, it just isn't as conducive for backpacking as it once was.
August 17, 2020Wish I had brought a bike to ride on the wide open dirt road. But the overgrown inland hike to the Oceanside was the best payoff! The ocean was gorgeous!
