While staying at the Oregon Coast, we drove to the Soapstone Lake Trailhead in the Clatsop State Forest in mid-May. It is a relatively easy hike – – – three miles roundtrip with 475 feet of elevation gain.
The area lies on the west side of the Coastal Mountains about 13 miles from Seaside. It’s a fairly new trail in good shape with four footbridges.
Either due to the light rain or springtime reproductive urges, there were an unbelievable amount of rough-skinned newts on and along the trail. Not beginning to count until well into the hike, we quickly spotted over 160 newts. Amazing! Literally every step we took was an adventure.
The newt’s coloration provided almost perfect camouflage. Oh, and we did see some wildflowers in bloom too.
High, wispy waterfalls along the North Fork of the Nehalem River
Rough-skinned Newt on the prowl
My favorite model and purple lupine flowers
Soapstone Lake
Salmonberry
Fairy Lanterns (wild lilies)
Pleasant stretch of the trail
Rough-skinned Newt taking a snooze
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