Hiking the Trail
Welcome to the hiking and biking trail that connects the heart of the Willamette Valley with the Oregon Coast through the Oregon Coast Range! The 60-mile Corvallis-to-the-Sea Trail (aka “C2C”) has a few popular starting points:
- The trail’s east end in Downtown Corvallis, at the confluence of the Willamette River and Marys River (Shawala Point Park)
- Three miles west, at the Benton County Fairgrounds
- The trail’s west end, Ona Beach State Park on the Pacific Ocean
Most people travel east-to-west. Public transit from Newport or Seal Rock is available for the return to Corvallis. Numerous trail access points dot the whole 60 miles, thanks to a variety of U.S. Forest Service and county roads. The C2C bike route follows many of these same roads. However, many of these trailheads are unusable or unreliable for parking.
Most of the C2C is on public lands and public rights of way. Some is in privately managed forests whose owners have supported the trail’s establishment in various important ways. The C2C hiking route is largely in abandoned or gated road corridors and low-traffic public roads. A little less than one third is on dirt trail. A few miles are on highway shoulder.
The trail’s halfway point is Big Elk Campground, west of the community of Harlan, managed by Siuslaw National Forest. It is a 50-minute drive from Corvallis and a 50-minute drive from Newport.
The C2C’s eastern 30 miles use a mixture of: private and county roads, multi-use path, and dirt trail. The hiking route and cycling route are the same. Five miles of this half are on Forest Service land.
On the western half, the hiking route and cycling route split and rejoin a couple of times. Hikers have eight miles on trails, which are closed to bikes, and either predated the C2C or were built for its official opening in 2021. Gravel and paved roads make up the whole bike route on this half.
Please respect all lands as you pass. The C2C Trail Partnership continuously works to foster durable agreements with a wide variety of private landowners. These agreements are revokable.
Also remember that the C2C Trail is located within the traditional homelands of:
- the Ampinefu, or Marys River Band of the Kalapuya People
- the Wusi’n, or Alsea People
- the Yaqo’n, or Yaquina People.
Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. (See History)
As a C2C hiker or cyclist you can travel from the valley through the coast range at the same pace of the Native Americans, early settlers and naturalists. You can journey under your own power for an afternoon, a day, a weekend or even a week. At the end you can splash and cool down in the Willamette River or the Pacific Ocean.
The C2C Trail connects with:
- the Oregon Coast Trail
- the Willamette Water Trail
- the North Ridge Trail to the 4,000-foot summit of Marys Peak, the very top of the Oregon Coast Range, offering views of the Pacific 40 miles away.
Hikers have often completed the entire route in three days, but five or six is a more leisurely pace. Here’s a nice narrative of a five-day hike in 2016.
Because the C2C has so many vehicle access points, supported through-hikes are a popular alternative to backpacking days’ worth of gear, food and water. A wide variety of shorter day hikes are available for mixing-and-matching.
Camping is limited to Siuslaw National Forest and must follow dispersed camping rules (except at Big Elk Campground). C2C Trail Partnership is not allowed to recommend specific campsites on public land. Plan your trip carefully to avoid being stuck in private land at nightfall.
If your ideal campsite includes smooth level ground, an awe-inspiring view, and a babbling brook a few steps away, you may be disappointed with the C2C Trail. Each of these attributes is available many places on the C2C, but not in complete combination.
Click to enlarge the above illustration of trail sections numbered east-to-west:
(User permits are required on: #3, #6, #19.)
- Corvallis
- Philomath
- Old Peak Rd. & Corvallis Watershed
- Lower North Ridge Trail
- Woods Creek Rd. & Shot Pouch Trail Rd.
- Sugarbowl
- Marys Peak Rd. & Harlan
- Grant Creek
- Hogback
- Branch Creek
- Bull Run
- Gopher Ridge
- Gopher Creek
- Hilltop Rd.
- FS3127
- Palmer Mountain Trail
- FS5083
- FS5081
- Peterson Ridge
- Simpson Creek
- North Beaver Creek Rd.