Quick Takes

I’ve created a Quick Takes section that has short descriptions and photographs of places to visit—mostly around the Pacific Northwest. It’s a growing list of places with brief descriptions based on our journeys and breathtaking scenery. Below are three new “Takes” from the section. These are beautiful places worth checking out.

Also, check out the entire Quick Takes section for more glorious spots to explore and keep your fingers crossed that we can all enjoy some summer travel. Be well!

Hug Point State Recreation Area, Oregon CoasT. © GIVEN PHOTOGRAPHY 2021

Hug Point is a wayside along the Oregon Coast that leads to a sweet beach. The short walk from the parking lot gets you a nice look at some unique beach physical features. Check the tide tables for low tide, which allows you the best access. Once you hit the beach, head north to find some sea caves carved out of sandstone cliffs, a small waterfall, tide pools, sea stacks, headlands and if you time it right, a magnificent sunset that turns the sandstone walls orange and pink. Bonus: It’s not often that you can see a lovely waterfall dropping to the beach. This one varies from gushing to a trickle depending on weather and season.

Kalaloch Campground, Olympic National Park © given photography 2021

Kalaloch campground is for beach lovers. It has several small loops of campsites perched on a bluff above the Pacific ocean along the Washington coast. The bluff sites are popular and it takes a bit of planning to reserve them. The campground is in Olympic National Park, which allows 6-month advance reservations. These can be gone in minutes, but well worth the effort. Even if you can’t get a site on the bluff, you will be steps away from the beach and you might even score a peek-a-boo view. The campsites are well maintained with picnic tables, fire pits, and cement pads for parking RVs. The sound of the ocean can be heard throughout the campground, which I always find so energizing. Sites are nestled in a canopy of sitka spruce, Douglas fir, and alder trees. Low growing salal, Oregon grape, and false lily of the valley carpet the ground. Kalaloch lodge is about 1/4 mile away for food and spirits. It also has a mini-store that sells basic needs, wood, and makes espresso. Bonus: You can hear the ocean waves crashing no matter where you are camped and you are steps away from a magnificent beach walk.

CAPE PERPETUA SCENIC AREA, Thor’s Well, OREGON COAST. © GIVEN PHOTOGRAPHY 2021

Cape Perpetua is a large forested headland that juts out into the Pacific ocean along the Oregon Coast. On a trip last summer we checked our sweet little trailer into Cape Perpetua campground, where we spent our hours exploring the dramatic coastal scenery of this area. The many waysides, pullouts, beaches, parks, and a lighthouse kept us in awe mode. The cape itself features a spouting horn and Thor’s Well, which looks like a giant hole that is draining the sea. Just north is the coastal town of Yachats. Hotels, cafes, a good brewery with tasty faire, and coffee shops line the highway. A tiny town, but enough amenities to make it worth a stop. Bonus: Checkout the Strawberry Hill wayside, located just south of the cape. If you time it right, you will get a close-up look at hauled-out harbor seals.

*******
A couple of weeks ago, the sun was out, so I quickly got myself together for a beach walk. What an amazing mood-booster and good reason to get out of the house—especially this time of year in the Pacific Northwest when the weather is mostly rainy—not to mention a much needed break from covid sheltering. If you missed my last post all about beach walking, you can read it here.