Hiking

There are places in Oregon where history whispers instead of shouts. No crowds. No big signs demanding your attention. Just a narrow trail winding through towering trees, the soft hush of wind through redwoods, and the quiet understanding that something extraordinary once happened here. Mike...

There’s something almost surreal about standing beneath a redwood tree. The scale doesn’t quite make sense at first. You look up, and up, and somehow still can’t find the top. The air feels cooler. The light turns soft and green. And for a moment, everything else fades into the background. John...

Updated August 2026: Astoria’s Richard Fencsak Cathedral Tree Trail is 0.9 mile one way between the 2800 block of Irving Avenue and the Astoria Column, making the basic out-and-back about 1.8 miles. It is a pedestrian-only, soft-surface forest path with elevation changes, stairs, roots and...

There’s a moment when you reach the top of the staircase at Lava River Cave and feel the air rising from below. It’s cold, steady, and carries that faint mineral scent that tells you this isn’t just another Oregon hike. It feels like standing at the edge of something ancient. And in a way, you...

There’s something that happens when you stand next to a tree that has been alive longer than almost everything you know. It quiets you. Not in a dramatic, movie-montage way, but in a subtle, grounding way, like your body suddenly realizes how small it is and how lucky it is to be there at all....