Whalen Island Trail
- Tina McLain
- May 19
- 4 min read
A loop trail on Whalen Island in Clay Myer Natural Area on the Oregon coast.
Trail: Whalen Island Trail
Note on trail name: There doesn't appear to by any officially designated name, but it appears to be reference as "whalen island trail" or "whalen island loop trail" online
Access: Trail
Distance: 1.66 miles (round trip)
Elevation Range: 2' to 51'
Ascent/Descent: +48 ft/-47 ft
Trail Type: Loop
Outing Type: Day hike
Winter Activity Options: Day hiking, rarely gets snow
Permits/Fees: None
Location: On Whalen Island in Clay Meyer Natural Area, Oregon, U.S.A.
Administration: Oregon Parks and Recreation
Date Accessed: February 27, 2025
Over the past year I've hiked and explore a majority of the coastal area between Cape Lookout and Pacific City. The only hike I hadn't done yet was the one of Whalen Island. Since it was a sunny day and the tide was high blocking some of my beach hiking ideas, I decided to explore the island. After crossing the bridge onto Whalen Island I stayed to the right and followed the signs to the day use parking area for "Clay Myers State Natural Area at Whalen Island." I was able to find a parking spot, there were some other cars but it wasn't full.
There didn't appear to be any fee. Do note that "day use" area right next to the bridge is a county park and there is a $10 day use fee there. The campground also has a fee, but it appears the state natural area doesn't have a day use fee.
I decided to hike the loop counter-clockwise. At the trailhead on the north end of the parking lot, I got to see a completely black bunny rabbit. It was so cute. The first part of the trail along the Lillian Parker Craft Wetland went through dense and tall foliage. The whole east side of the loop had pretty much no "views" until reaching the far north end of the the loop when it turn to follow along the west "shore" and then head south. Even with there being no views, the foliage was rather pretty.
At the north side and then along the west side of the trail there were multiple spur trails that lead to views and/or the sandy shoreline along the estuary. When the trail started to head south along the west side of the island, the trail eventually dipped downhill and there was a short section of walking on looser sand from 45.27825, -123.95229 to 45.27729, -123.95329.
There were two sections where there appeared to be multiple "trails," but after consulting my GPS & map I was able to find my way along the correct/official route. Overall a majority of the trail was hard packed, easy to walk on, and straightforward navigation-wise.
The lightly forested section from the end of the loose sand section to the end of the trail was very beautiful. I didn't run into anyone else along the west side of the island and before that I'd only seen two other people and a dog.
One of my favorite spurs with view was at 45.27538, -123.95336 where there was a wooden fence and a great view of the estuary.
When nearing the south end of the trail the foliage got very dense again, lining the trail. There was even a few sections where it created a tunnel of foliage to walk underneath. The trail looped back to the parking lot and came out at the south end of the day use parking area.
It was a pretty and not too populated hike. I could occasionally hear OHV's from the Sand Lake OHV Area on the other side of the estuary, but that didn't ruin my enjoyment of this hike.
Coordinates
Parking lot: 45.27350, -123.95001
Trailhead #1: 45.27357, -123.95044
Trailhead #2: 45.27315, -123.95025
View of wetland: 45.28021, -123.94869
Spur to shore #1: 45.27994, -123.95028
Spur to shore #2: 45.27944, -123.95078
Spot where there appears to be multiple trails: 45.27827, -123.95182
Spur to shore #3: 45.27678, -123.95381
Start of loose sand (when going counter clockwise): 45.27825, -123.95229
End of loose sand (when going counter clockwise): 45.27729, -123.95329
Spur to shore #4: 45.27597, -123.95345
View of estuary with fence: 45.27538, -123.95336
View of estuary: 45.27266, -123.95213
Split in trail: 45.27265, -123.95156
How to get there
Along the east side of the day use parking area, there was room for trails/RV's along the fence and 6 designated parking spots. On the west side of the parking lot there were 3 designated parking spots and 3 designated parking spots near the south trailhead.
The day use are had two bathrooms and maps with signage.
Map
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