Crescent Beach Waterfall

Ecola State Park / Cannon Beach, Oregon, USA

About Crescent Beach Waterfall

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Crescent Beach Waterfall was actually a waterfall that I was well aware of ever since we first visited Ecola State Park back in early April 2009.

Back then, we noticed a waterfall spilling onto the beach, but we wondered if there was a trail that would actually let us go down there to truly experience it.

Crescent_Beach_201_04072021 - The Crescent Beach Waterfall
The Crescent Beach Waterfall

We ultimately had to wait 12 years before that opportunity finally presented itself.

And as you can tell from this write-up, there is indeed such a trail.

It turned out that the Crescent Beach Waterfall actually has a hidden upper tier (so it’s taller than it appears in the photos on this page), but I’d argue that it’s the pristine scenery of Crescent Beach itself that made this experience.

Indeed, not only did we get to enjoy vistas of the long stretch of wet sand closed in by rock stacks (many of which have sea arches), but there were few people on the trail on the day we did this hike in early April 2021.

Ecola_SP_048_04032009 - This was the view of the Crescent Beach Waterfall when we first witnessed it near the Ecola Point Lookout back in early April 2009
This was the view of the Crescent Beach Waterfall when we first witnessed it near the Ecola Point Lookout back in early April 2009

Maybe the on-and-off pockets of rain had something to do with keeping most visitors away from doing this adventure, but it ended up being one of the magical highlights of that Spring Break Trip.

Hiking The Crescent Beach Trail – Ecola Point & The Start Of The Hike

In order to earn our Crescent Beach and Crescent Beach Waterfall experience, we had to go on a 4-mile round-trip hike (according to my GPS logs).

It started from the day use parking lot for Ecola Point (see directions below), where we paid $5 for a pay-and-display ticket.

From this parking lot, we had the option of walking towards the viewpoints immediately downhill towards Ecola Point from the parking lot, or we could head towards the restroom area where the Crescent Beach Trail started.

Crescent_Beach_032_04072021 - Julie and Tahia starting on the Crescent Beach Trail during our early April 2021 visit. That sign warned that only experienced hikers should do this trail, and I kind of see why
Julie and Tahia starting on the Crescent Beach Trail during our early April 2021 visit. That sign warned that only experienced hikers should do this trail, and I kind of see why

During our visit in early April 2021, there were numerous closure signs warning of active landslides so the only vista that was worth our while was the one looking back over to Crescent Beach, where we could see the target waterfall.

Anyways, at the start of the trail, there was a sign warning that only experienced hikers should attempt this trail.

For reasons that will be clear later on in this write-up, it became apparent why.

The trail then ascended steps as I climbed back up to the access road that we took to get into Ecola State Park.

Crescent_Beach_043_04072021 - Julie and Tahia walking alongside the access road that we had driven on to get to the Ecola Point Day Use Parking Lot as we followed the Crescent Beach Trail
Julie and Tahia walking alongside the access road that we had driven on to get to the Ecola Point Day Use Parking Lot as we followed the Crescent Beach Trail

We then briefly followed this road until signs pointed for us to go back down below the road and onto a narrower and more lush coastal forest at roughly 0.3-mile from the start.

Hiking The Crescent Beach Trail – A Detour, Fallen Trees, and Muddy Areas

Shortly after leaving the access road, we encountered a fork where the authorities appeared to try to steer hikers away from the path on the right.

Just out of curiosity, we went ahead and took the path on the right instead of the pink-ribboned path on the left.

That path on the right descended towards openings in the forest revealing more of Crescent Beach below, and it was quite the scenic route.

Crescent_Beach_063_04072021 - Julie and Tahia checking out the views of Crescent Beach (and Cannon Beach in the distance) from the scenic part of the Crescent Beach Trail (which the detour actually avoided)
Julie and Tahia checking out the views of Crescent Beach (and Cannon Beach in the distance) from the scenic part of the Crescent Beach Trail (which the detour actually avoided)

However, shortly after getting past the coastal vistas along this path, we then encountered a series of large fallen trees, and that’s when we realized why the authorities made the detour in the first place.

By the way, the pink-ribbon-lined detour bypassing the scenic route wasn’t immune to fallen trees either as we had encountered at least one that we had to climb over (we know because we took this way on the way back to the trailhead).

At nearly 0.35 mile from the start of this scenic path, the two paths then merged, and we proceeded along a more conventional forested route surrounded by moss-covered trees and lots of ferns on the forest floor.

For almost the next mile, the trail was fairly straightforward to follow, but it had its share of skirting around very muddy patches (some of which had attractive flowers blooming in the middle of them) and some slippery gullies.

Crescent_Beach_086_04072021 - The Crescent Beach Trail had to go through one of these deep muddy patches that we had to skirt around, but interestingly, there were flowers blooming in the middle of some of them
The Crescent Beach Trail had to go through one of these deep muddy patches that we had to skirt around, but interestingly, there were flowers blooming in the middle of some of them

Because it was raining on and off during our early April 2021 visit, we appreciated the fairly extensive forest cover which sheltered us from the weather for the most part.

Eventually, the Crescent Beach Trail reached a signed junction where going right led down to Crescent Beach while going left would lead towards Cannon Beach.

While I was aware that it was possible to walk to Crescent Beach from Cannon Beach, I’d imagine that was the trail that would have taken us here had we started from there.

Hiking The Crescent Beach Trail – The Final Descent

Keeping right at the signed trail junction, the trail then began its moderately steep descent, which the trailhead signage had warned about.

Crescent_Beach_137_04072021 - Julie struggling with this steep and slippery downhill stretch as we were getting closer to Crescent Beach
Julie struggling with this steep and slippery downhill stretch as we were getting closer to Crescent Beach

What made this part of the trail tricky was that the footing on the narrow trail was quite slippery even with the proper hiking boots on, and this is in the presence of sloping dropoffs.

The best advice that I can give on this stretch (especially if you’re not using trekking poles) is to lean forward and use the downward momentum to your advantage.

If you lean too far back, you’ll likely slip and fall (kind of similar to the mentality you need when you’re learning how to ski).

After getting through this 0.3-mile stretch, the worst part was over, and then came the final descent on steps where the last flight onto the rocks was missing.

Crescent_Beach_152_04072021 - Tahia and Julie on the final stair-aided descent to Crescent Beach. Note Tahia was at the end of the steps down below and she actually had to scramble towards her right (away from the dropoff) to get onto the rocks safely
Tahia and Julie on the final stair-aided descent to Crescent Beach. Note Tahia was at the end of the steps down below and she actually had to scramble towards her right (away from the dropoff) to get onto the rocks safely

Fortunately, we were able to scramble down from the opposite side of the end of the steps onto the rocks, and then we were finally onto Crescent Beach.

Exploring Crescent Beach

At this point, we kept to our right (going north) along Crescent Beach for the next 0.2-mile to finally get to the base of the Crescent Beach Waterfall.

This waterfall flowed on the aptly-named Waterfall Creek, but I suspect that its fairly weak flow suggested that it was seasonal.

On the final approach to the waterfall, that was when we noticed a hidden upper tier that faced away from the vistas that faced south.

Crescent_Beach_185_04072021 - Looking at the hidden upper tier of the Crescent Beach Waterfall, which could only be seen without a drone from the beach
Looking at the hidden upper tier of the Crescent Beach Waterfall, which could only be seen without a drone from the beach

However, we couldn’t photograph both of these twisting tiers together in one go so it appeared quite a bit smaller than it really was.

Nevertheless, we pretty much spent a good deal of time at this waterfall, which we had to ourselves during our visit.

I did notice one other person who kept walking further north on Crescent Beach, and perhaps he pursued alcoves and caves that I thought I saw in the distance.

In any case, after having our fill of the Crescent Beach Waterfall, we then pursued the far southern end of the beach near Chapman Point and the Bird Rocks because each of the formations here featured sea arches.

Crescent_Beach_224_04072021 - Looking towards the pair of sea arches at Chapman Point and Bird Rocks in low tide
Looking towards the pair of sea arches at Chapman Point and Bird Rocks in low tide

Along the way, we noticed there was a separate trail and even thinner cascade as well as crabs, birds, lots of driftwood, and even sea shells (hinting at how pristine this beach was).

After having our fill of Crescent Beach, we then returned the way we came, which ultimately took us over 3 hours, but a solid hour was spent just enjoying being almost alone on the beach.

Authorities

The Crescent Beach Waterfall resides in Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach in Clatsop County, Oregon. It is administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: ecola state park, crescent beach, cannon beach, oregon coast, waterfall, muddy, sea arches



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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