Cascade Head

Why You Should Visit
Cascade Head is a haven for rare plants, wildlife and grassland communities once abundant along the Oregon Coast. This spectacular coastal headland provides critical habitat for native prairie grasses, rare wildflowers and the Oregon silverspot butterfly.

Watch a short student film about the Oregon silverspot butterfly, and see photos of captively reared butterflies released this summer.

Location
North of Lincoln City, south of Neskowin, in northwest Oregon

Size
270 acres

How to Prepare for Your Visit
Each year more than 10,000 visitors hike the preserve for the views, wildflowers and wildlife. Please remember to leave dogs and mountain bikes at home. The preserve hosts ground-nesting birds and animals that are extremely sensitive to disturbance. For more information about how to prepare for your visit, please see our Preserve Visitation Guidelines.

Directions
There are two trails on Cascade Head. To reach the lower trail, a more vigorous hike to the top of the headland, head N on US 101 from Lincoln City. Just N of the Salmon River, turn W on Three Rocks Road. At 2 miles, take the left fork and park in Knight Park. The trailhead begins there. It crosses through private and U.S. Forest Service property and over a narrow winding road. Please use caution and respect private property.

The upper trail, a more level one-mile hike to the upper viewpoint, is closed by the Forest Service from January 1 to July 15. To reach it, drive 2.4 miles N of the Salmon River almost to the summit of Cascade Head. Turn left on Cascade Head Road (U.S.F.S. Road 1861). Continue approximately 3.5 miles, bearing left when the road forks. (There is a U.S. Forest Service trail to Harts Cove at the end of this road.) The upper trailhead is marked by a small parking lot and sign. At the upper viewpoint, the trail drops steeply 500 feet to connect with the lower trail.

What to See: Plants
Formed by the uplift of underwater volcanic basalt flows, the headland is unusual for the extent of its prairies dominated by native species: red fescue, wild rye, Pacific reedgrass, coastal paintbrush, goldenrod, blue violet and streambank lupine. Ninety-nine percent of the world's population of the Cascade Head catchfly is found here. Hairy checkermallow is another rare flower found here.

What to See: Animals
The Oregon silverspot butterfly, federally listed as a threatened species, is known to only five other locations in the world. The butterfly depends on a single plant species, the early blue violet (which grows coastal grassland openings), to serve as food for its larvae. Elk, deer, coyote, snowshoe hare and the Pacific giant salamander frequent the preserve, while bald eagle, great horned owl, northern harrier, red-tail hawk and the occasional peregrine falcone soar in hunting forays over the grassy slopes.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
In the early 1960's, volunteers organized an effort to protect Cascade Head from development; by 1966 they had raised funds to purchase the property, after which they turned it over to The Nature Conservancy. Because of its ecological significance, Cascade Head Preserve and surrounding national forest and other lands have won recognition as a National Scenic Research Area and a United Nations Biosphere Reserve.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
Researchers are testing methods of maintaining and restoring grassland habitat for the Oregon silverspot butterfly, including prescribed fire. However, it takes a few years for the early blue violet -- the butterfly's host plant -- to reach maturity. As a "stop-gap measure," the Conservancy teamed up with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lewis and Clark College and the Oregon Zoo to gather female silverspots for captive rearing. After being hatched and raised at the college and the zoo, their progeny are reintroduced as pupae to the preserve.

Conservancy ecologists also monitor the populations of rare plants throughout the year. In spring and summer, teams of volunteers remove invasive species (such as Himalayan blackberry), help maintain trails, assist with research projects and teach visitors about the preserve.