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TRIP 17 Step Creek

Distance		3.0 miles, Out-and-back
Elevation Gain		400 feet
Hiking Time		2 hours
Optional Map		Tillamook State Forest (trail not shown)
Usually Open		All year (except during winter storms)
Best Time		Any
Trail Use		Dogs OK, horseback riding
Agency		Forest Grove District, Tillamook State Forest
Difficulty		Moderate
Note		Good in cloudy weather

HIGHLIGHTS Although unsigned and unofficial, the path up Step Creek is a fun and relatively easy hike that is well worth finding. The lovely forest and creek setting is reason enough to visit, but for those who want a more identifiable destination, a good stopping point is a small meadow where quiet hikers stand a good chance of seeing elk.

DIRECTIONS Drive U.S. Highway 26 west from Portland to a junction a little past milepost 38. Turn left (south) on Timber Road, drive 3.1 miles, and then turn right on Cochran Road, which starts as pavement but soon changes to good gravel. At 2.5 miles from Timber Road and 0.1 mile past the turnoff for Reehers Campground, turn left into the signed parking area for the Reehers Campground Trailhead and day-use area.

From the east side of the trailhead parking lot, ignore the main Gales Creek Trail, which curves downhill to the west (see Trip 16), and follow instead a trail that goes east toward Reehers Campground. After 100 yards, turn right (downhill) on the signed Nehalem River Access Trail. This path descends 0.15 mile to the banks of the beautiful and clear Nehalem River, which here is really just a creek. Walk downstream along the trailless bank for about 0.1 mile, crossing the flow on any of several possible logs. When the river makes a fairly sharp turn to the right, take a jeep track that goes up the south bank.

Follow this jeep track uphill for 0.2 mile to a crossing of the Tillamook Railroad, and then pick up the trail angling to the southeast (slightly left) on the other side of the tracks. The trail is now wide and easy to follow, as it travels through a very attractive second-growth forest of Douglas firs with the usual tangle of sword fern and Oregon grape carpeting the forest floor. About 0.3 mile from the railroad tracks the trail begins to cross a hillside above the rollicking waters of unseen Step Creek on your left.

At 0.7 mile is a junction. An all-terrain vehicle trail angles to the right, but you take the left fork and soon hop across (greatly overstated) Plenty Big Creek. Beyond here the gently graded route continues south, mostly in a relatively open deciduous woodland where you can see down to joyfully cascading Step Creek. At about 1.1 miles you cross a trickling side creek, and then at 1.4 miles the trail curves uphill to the right away from Step Creek. Instead of taking this route, leave the trail here, and follow a use path that goes downhill to the left. In about 100 yards this route leads to a beautiful marshy meadow. Enter the meadow quietly and you may spot elk, whose tracks and droppings are everywhere, or beavers, whose activity is quite noticeable on the creek. This is the recommended turnaround point.