Giant Spruce Trail

Giant Spruce Trail loops through the lush riparian forest of Cape Creek to one of the most impressive individual trees on the central Oregon coast, a massive Sitka spruce estimated at 500 years old with a trunk circumference of nearly 15 feet and a height exceeding 200 feet. The trail follows Cape Creek through a magnificent streamside forest where bigleaf maples draped in moss arch over the water and alder, willow, and Sitka spruce create a layered canopy of extraordinary richness. The creek corridor is one of the most productive salmon and steelhead streams on the central coast, and fish can be observed in the pools below the trail during fall and winter runs. The Giant Spruce itself is the primary destination: a tree of commanding presence that was already centuries old when European explorers first mapped this coast, and which has survived countless storms, floods, and the logging activity that cleared most surrounding forests in the twentieth century. Its massive trunk, deeply furrowed bark, and soaring crown convey an unmistakable sense of antiquity and natural power. Interpretive signs along the trail explain the ecology of the Sitka spruce zone, one of the most productive forest types in North America in terms of biomass production per acre. The trail connects to the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center, where exhibits explain the natural and human history of this remarkable stretch of coast. Suitable for all ages and fitness levels.