Getting outdoors in Oregon can be great for the soul. Take in some fresh air, admire the scenery, and connect back to nature. And it’s even more enjoyable when you can bring the whole family along with you. With one national park, 52 state parks, and 30.5 million acres of forest within, there are a lot of family hikes in Oregon to choose from. Here are three of our most favorite.
They don’t call it Hobbit Trail for nothing. Located just outside Florence, this one-mile out-and-back hike is just as magical and storybook as it sounds.
The coastal forest is overloaded with lushness in its rhododendrons and Sitka spruce trees.
It even features a tunnel made out of thick, bushy foliage that leads you out to...
a gorgeous beach at the foot of coastal cliffs where kids can search for shells and crabs and explore tidepools.
You can also extend this enchanted trail another four miles out and back to the 1894 Heceta Head Lighthouse. If you have the time and energy to tack this on, you’ll get to see not only the lighthouse, but you can also take a personal tour, which occurs every 20 minutes.
The 65-acre man-made Trillium Lake is located in Mount Hood National Forest.
Created in 1960, it’s known for its outstanding water activities, such as boating, tubing, kayaking, swimming, paddle boarding, and windsurfing.
And you can also take a two-mile, relatively flat loop around it. Along the way, little ones can look out for all sorts of wildlife, like salamanders, frogs, heron, deer, and geese.
The lake is (of course) beautiful in and of itself, and the hike will provide beautiful natural scenery such as wetland wildflowers in the summer and a variety of trees, such as western hemlock and silver fir. But it’s the view of the 11,239-foot-high Mount Hood in the lake’s background that is by far the crown jewel.
Not only is the trail short and easy, but a good portion of it consists of manmade boardwalks, perfect for any walker. There are also benches along the way if you’d like to stop for a moment to just observe flora and fauna.
And your day doesn’t have to end with the hike. Participate in some water recreation or take a bike ride.
There’s also a campground here if you ever want to make more than just a hike out of this area.
Located in Siuslaw National Forest, Sweet Creek Falls is the perfect place if you are looking for an easy route to see some exquisite natural beauty with the kids.
The total trip is six miles, but it’s almost entirely flat with four trailheads to start from. If you start from Homestead, you’ll do the entire trail, and if you start from Beaver Creek Falls, you’ll do the shortest distance.
There are plenty of wooden bridges and metal walkways along the way, but do be aware that there are some streams, rocks, and steps, which might become slippery during or after rainfall.
The trail is great year-round, with the waterfalls gushing in the spring, plenty of shallow water to relax around in the summer, grand foliage views in the fall, and who doesn’t love to see frozen waterfalls and snow-coated trees in the winter?
Each of the waterfall, vary in length and height. With some higher than others….
And some wider than others.
There are 11 waterfalls dotted along Sweet Creek, all enveloped within alder and Douglas fir trees, among many others.
Sweet Creek Falls, at 20 feet, is the grand conclusion of the waterfall tour.
Now that you've learned about some of the very best family hikes in Oregon, it's time to get your hiking gear packed up and hit the road. Have you ever been to any of these spots? What are your favorite kid-friendly hikes in Oregon? Tell us in the comments below!
Head to the websites for Hobbit Beach, Trillium Lake, and Sweet Creek Falls for the most up-to-date information.
Looking for some more adventurous hikes? Check out these out-of-this-world Oregon hikes.
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