Must see stops for your Pacific Northwest travels—Wildflowers, tide pools, and an off-the-beaten-path campground

TOM MCCALL PRESERVE, ROWENA, OREGON

The Tom McCall Preserve is perched above the Columbia river, showcasing beautiful wildflowers. Winding paths lead you through fields of arrowleaf balsam root. These flowers are commonly known as Oregon sunflower. Other blooms and small oak trees are scattered throughout, blanketing the plateau grasses. The easy trails are perfect for a nice morning walk. This preserve is located in Rowena, which is a few miles east of Hood River, Oregon. Bonus: Amateur or not, it’s a photographer’s dream. The abundant flowers make it easy to capture stunning photos with the Columbia river as a backdrop.

MORA CAMPGROUND, OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK

This national park campground offers spacious sites nestled in lush vegetation. Salal, Oregon grape, salmon berry, Indian plum, and huckleberry keep the sites private. The towering western hemlock, alders, western red cedar, and other old growth trees add a lovely green canopy. The campground’s location is a perfect base for beach exploration. Just down the road you’ll find Rialto beach. It’s a small scoop of land that is bounded by sea stacks to the south and rugged headlands to the north, offering magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean. Read more about Rialto here. A few miles west of Mora you can access Second and Third beaches via short trails. Sea stacks, marine mammals, and tide pools make up these wild beaches. Bonus: Across the road from the campground a pretty nature trail leads the way through a coastal forest.

Seal Rock, Oregon coast

This is an ever-changing sweet little beach. At low-tide you’ll get easy access to tide pools. You can see sea stars and anenomes from the sandy shore. Venture out a little farther on the rocky pools for limpets, marine worms, sculpins and other intertidal creatures. Farther out, craggy sea stacks punctuate the horizon. On the day we visited, we were delighted to see a harlequin duck preening on a rock near shore. These ducks are a standout with feathers that look hand-painted. Visit at high-tide on a windy day for a hullabaloo of sounds from hundreds of gulls crying as they bathe in a rushing river, while giant waves crash against the sea stacks. Bonus: In late evening sunsets dazzle. Bright oranges and pinks illuminate the sky as the sun dips behind the silhouetted sea stacks.