Wilson River Trail



Trail sign at our start

Susan was spending time at the coast with her family, so #trailrunning and I decided to meet her 1/2 between Portland and the coast in the Tillamook forest area. We took advantage of having 2 cars and being able to shuttle, we ran the of the majority (22 miles) of the  Wilson River trail, starting at Elk Creek and ending at Keening Creek.  


Tillamook Forest vista

The weather was perfect, Susan was in capris and a short sleeved shirt, I over dressed in long pants and a long sleeved shirt. The trail was completely runnable, I would describe it as rolling hills, though Susan and #trailrunning might disagree with me about the hill at the very end that seemed like it would never end. There were a few times when the trail hit a forest road and the other side of the trail wasn't obvious but it didn't take us very long to find it. If I would of done a better job of reading the trail description on Oregon Hikers  we probably wouldn't of had any problems. 


A sizable waterfall we crossed on the trail


You don't get the dramatic views and waterfalls you find around Mt Hood or the Gorge, but you get less crowds and some smaller waterfalls, views of the coast range and a trail you can run on year round. I am looking forward to exploring Elk and King's Mountains, which are right off the Wilson River trail. 



Costal range views

David contemplates the river

Here's the tropical-looking water he contemplated. Yes, we talking about jumping in.

Trail signs near the forest center


Look at that water!


David and Ann cross a bridge near the end
Map from the trailhead


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