Valley of the Giants

My parents and I were looking for a good close hike that we hadn't done, but would be short enough that we could make it back to McMinnville for a BBQ and Brew Festival in the granary district. We chose to explore a short hike in the Valley of the Giants - a tiny 55-acre patch of epic old growth Douglas Fir trees amidst the clearcut desolation of the Coast Range. The drive to the valley was traumatic - 20 miles of one lane gravel logging roads, with the most horrendous views on all sides. Yay Oregon, land of scenic beauty! It was easy to get depressed.


Once we arrived at the trailhead though, things immediately looked up...literally, as we were surrounded by massive trees. The trail was only about a mile loop total, but we took almost two hours. Every step we took revealed towering 400 year old 250 foot tall giant trees.



This guy had to be 10ft in diameter.

The North Fork of the Siletz ran through the Valley, which apparently had a 200fpm section just below what we could see from the trail. It was crystal clear and beautiful.


The giant trees, beautiful stream, and mellow hike left us feeling pretty magical. Too bad we had to drive back through this to get home...
All of the dust from the road left us pretty thirsty for one of these....YUM!
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