Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Parks on the Oregon coast usually center one or two kinds of ecosystems. It’s either the beach and the forest, the dunes and the lakes, or most often just a good look at the ocean.

But Sitka Sedge, the newest state park site on the Oregon coast, boasts a beautiful diversity of natural beauty, quickly cementing a unique place on a coastline already filled with parks.

Officially known as Sitka Sedge State Natural Area, the 357-acre park features roughly three miles of easy trails. The paths wind through a dense forest of spruce and salal, past a tidal marsh and mudflats, and eventually out to a gorgeous stretch of sandy beach with views of Cape Kiwanda and the southern Haystack Rock.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A viewpoint looks out over the mudflats at Sitka Sedge State Natural Area.

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The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department opened the park to the public back in June, four years after officials purchased the land for $1.8 million from a private landowner. Historically, Sitka Sedge is in the territory of the Nestucca group of the Tillamook tribe (now part of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz), according to the parks department, and was a part of the Siletz Reservation from 1855 to 1875.



It sits on the edge of the Sand Lake estuary, halfway between Cape Lookout and Cape Kiwanda on the north-central part of the coast. The ecologically diverse area is a great place to watch birds, pick mushrooms and lounge by the ocean. On sunny days, the beach beckons – on rainy days, the forest calls.



The easiest way to see it is on a short loop hike that covers most of the park’s trails. It starts out simply enough along the gravel Beltz Dike trail, which after half a mile branches off to the Estuary View Loop (to the right) and the Kinnikinnik Woods Loop (left). Pick a direction and do them both to get a good look at the whole park. Most trail junctions are marked with a post and small trail map, but are otherwise unsigned, making it easy to lose your way.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A dense forest covers much of the trail at Sitka Sedge.

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The trails that run along the ocean side of the park offer only two official access points to the beach, but there are several small, unofficial trails that cross the dunes as well. Be careful, though, as the northern tip of the park is preserved as nesting ground for snowy plovers, and is closed to the public for much of the year.

Size is the only real downside to Sitka Sedge. The parking lot is small, and there’s no overflow area if it gets crowded. And while there are a variety of ecosystems to enjoy, you can see most of the park in a couple of hours.

Sitka Sedge is no Oswald West, Cape Lookout or Fort Stevens. Those massive state parks boast big, sweeping views from the tops of cliffs, with many miles of trails and big campgrounds. This little park is small potatoes by comparison, but for Oregonians and out-of-state tourists who have been just about everywhere else on the coast, it should be exciting enough to have a new park to explore.

--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Sand dunes and a calm ocean greet hikers just off the main trail.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A Stellar's jay perches on a mossy branch of a tree beside the Beltz Dike Trail.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A wooden footbridge crosses over a muddy spot on the Estuary View Loop.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Visitors walk along the Beltz Dike Trail.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A viewpoint looks out over the mudflats of Sand Lake.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Small white mushrooms grow on the side of the forested trail.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Haystack Rock (the one at Cape Kiwanda) is seen from the beach at Sitka Sedge.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A bird stands still in the shallow water on the mudflats of Sand Lake.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A wooden sign greets visitors to the newest state park site on the Oregon coast.

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