122/365 Nature Conservancy and Hart Cove Trails

While at the beach this weekend, we decided to go on one of our favorite hikes, the Nature Conservancy Trail.  Just north of Lincoln City, this trail goes through about 1 mile of forest before emptying onto a beautiful alpine meadow overlooking the coastline.  The meadow is owned by the Nature Conservancy and it's a butterfly refuge.  The views are stunning...but thick fog this trip obscured a lot of view.  It was still breathteaking.

A clearing in the meadow is a great spot for picnics, enjoying the view, or a little sunbathing.

After picnicing at the Nature Conservancy Trail, we headed a little further north to hike to Hart's Cove.  We'd never done this 6 mile roundtrip trail, but were drawn to the promise of a waterfall that descends to the ocean, sea lions and more awe-inspiring views.  We hiked the 3 miles down steep and rocky switchback trails through stunning old-growth forests to Hart's Cove.  When we reached the bluff over the cove, we couldn't see a thing...thick fog had enveloped the coast (as well as us)...we could hear the sea lions barking and hear the ocean waves, but in front of us was a wall of white.  So we rested a bit and then hiked the 3 miles back up to the trailhead. I was dissappointed not to actually see the cove, but the beautiful forest trail was worth the hike all by itself.