43 min
Overview
The rugged 90-foot cliffs at Cape Arago line three coves with westward tilting bedrock of siltstone, sandstone, and shale. Looking south, you can see to Cape Blanco and Humbug Mountain; looking north from the North Cove viewpoint, you can see the rocks of the Simpson Reef, where thousands of seals and sea lions haul out at low tide. The hike described here, however, first takes you 430 feet up the Arago Ridge, and then descends past a World War II radar post to meander along the cliffs to the Simpson Reef Viewpoint, where you can use binoculars to observe the seal/sea lion activity on Shell Island and do a little whale watching. This loop can also be connected to the Shore Acres Loop Hike via the Oregon Coast Trail at Simpson Beach. The cape was originally named by George Vancouver in 1778, who called it Cape Gregory in honor of St. Gregory the Great, a 6th century pope. It was renamed Cape Arago in 1850 after the French mathematician, astronomer, and physicist François Arago. In June 1579, Sir Francis Drake is said to have sailed the Golden Hinde into Cape Arago’s South Cove seeking shelter. Walk past a gate and a line of bollards to pass the sign for the Cape Arago Pack Trail. This trail connects with the old jeep track that once led to Arago Peak. At first you’re hiking up the road to a group campsite. The road bends left, and you’ll see a port-a-potty and picnic tables ahead. Turn off to the right before you reach them on a trail that heads uphill through the dense evergreen huckleberry. You’ll pass a trail coming in from the left: This is your return route on the loop. The path narrows as it winds up and reaches a ridge crest. Make six descending switchbacks on a slope thick with salmonberry under a canopy of Sitka spruce. Step over a creek, and now count five switchbacks up to the Cape Arago Pack-Arago Peak Trail Junction. The Arago Peak Trail leads right for ¾ mile and 200 feet in elevation gain to the forested summit of 734-foot Arago Peak, which is also reached by a gravel logging road from the sout
Trail Stats
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216 m
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