Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail is a 12.2 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Seaside, Oregon that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. 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.
Take in the beauty of Tillamook Head and follow a famous trail used by the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Part of the Oregon Coast Trail. The Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail goes from Seaside to Indian Beach or vice versa. The southern 1.4 miles of this trail include/overlap half of the Clatsop Loop Trail and you'll have to hike this as it's part of the trail too. You can continue south 1.5 miles from Indian Beach on the Indian Beach Trail to another parking area.
Wear sturdy footwear. Some parts of the trail can be muddy for most of the year. Take adequate clothing for rain and wind as well as food and water. Tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. Take a cell phone. Do not go off the trail. Pack it in pack it out!
February 28, 2021Not too muddy today, but there are a lot of downed trees to climb over.
February 28, 2021Beautiful but very muddy. About a mile in there is a large slide with many downed trees. We had to do some level 5 tree yoga to get around only to run into another patch of downed trees. After the fourth slide (1.25 miles in) we decided to turn around, head back to Seaside and drink some beer. I recommend the Irish stout from Seaside Brewing.
February 27, 2021One trail l was really my muddy, stay near the shore line
February 1, 2021Beautiful hike. Pretty good slide about a mile in, but fantastic.
January 25, 2021Beautiful! I can't wait to go again!
January 19, 2021January 16, 2021January 16, 2021Tough terrain. Very muddy. Super fun trail
December 12, 2020About as muddy as one could expect for a coast trail...great weather today!
December 9, 2020December 4, 2020This is a great trail that runs through a forest of old growth trees right along the Pacific Ocean. We hit a day that was clear and cool. Perfect hiking conditions. If it has rained recently this will be a very muddy hike.
December 2, 2020Great trail with amazing views, not overly difficult.
November 14, 2020Standard forest hike. Nothing too spectacular in our opinion for how much effort the trail is. Normally just getting in a good workout would be great, but there’s just so much mud. Two twisted ankles later (one apiece) we were glad we turned around at the cabins. Probably more pleasant in better conditions.
November 12, 2020Muddy trail but a warm day
November 7, 2020Muddy since it just rained, trees fallen in places but not impassable like the signs say
November 1, 2020October 31, 2020Excellent hike. It is 5 miles from Seaside Trailhead to Hikers Campground and lighthouse Viewpoint, where there are 3 first come, first serve log cabins that are great for wind protection. We camped overnight and caught the full moon over the lighthouse. Highly recommend. (Easier route to campsite is from Indian River - 2.1 miles). To camp this overnight required that we parked .5 miles down the road from the Seaside trailhead in a gravel pullout. Not a big deal. The first 1.5 or so miles of the Seaside Entry are some fun switchbacks that get you up on the bluff pretty quickly. Recently there have been some heavy winds and rain, so at times the trail is muddy and trees have fallen onto the trail way. Nothing impassable, but fairly frequent circumvention is required. We packed out 10/15 lbs of firewood because of how short the trail is - there is no dry firewood avail at the campsite, although controlled/maintained fires are allowed within the pit. Excellent hike, very rewarding views.
October 28, 2020Beautiful trail, like hiking through an enchanted forest, with great views of the ocean every so often. Definitely tough— it’s steep and the trail was very muddy. There were also ~10 downed trees that you need to duck under or scrabble over (some are quite large). Bring trekking poles for the mud. Trail was otherwise easy to follow/well marked and the surroundings were gorgeous.
October 26, 2020The trail is no longer closed. I was not able to go the entire way due to time constraints but it’s still super fun! Pretty muddy though. 6 cars in parking lot on a Monday around noon.
October 24, 2020October 18, 2020October 16, 2020October 4, 2020Great forest with incredible views of the rock formations. Hiker’s camp would be a good option if you like the cabins but there are also decent places around there to pitch a tent. I’m not sure if they had a faucet at the hiker’s camp but I can say that the closest water we were able to find was another mile and a half down the trail, pretty close to Indian Beach.
September 21, 2020September 19, 2020September 17, 2020
