Two miles north of Cannon Beach lies the south end of Ecola State Park. As the pamphlet I was handed upon paying my day-use fee last weekend says, Ecola State Park is a hiking and sightseeing mecca with a storied past.

You might not realize how big the park is, but it stretches nine-miles-worth of shoreline from Cannon Beach to Seaside. Much of this prime, ocean-front land used to be privately owned. In the early 20th century, summer homes sat at Ecola Point which now offers parking, restrooms, picnic tables and a view of Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock. The original 451-acre tract was aquired by Oregon?State Parks in 1932 through donation and purchase. The rest of the park, including a forest reserve, was acquired by 1978.

I enjoyed hiking the 1.5-mile trail between Ecola Point and Indian Beach. Full of short climbs and repeated dips, the trail wends and winds its way through tall trees and endless wildlife. I was particularly taken with the summer wildflowers: foxgloves, dandelions, daisies, clover, thistles, Queen Annes lace and more.

The trail follows a scenic bluff, and there are several open spots that provide breathless, spectacular views. The sunshine was warm; the cool breeze refreshing. From my high vantage point, the ocean seemed endless, stretching out into the distance.

William Clark felt the same when he traveled through the area in January 1806: from this point I beheld the grandest and most pleasing prospects which my eyes ever surveyed, in frount a boundless Ocean … a most romantic appearance.

A number of companions from the Corps of Discovery, including Sacagawea, made their way from Seaside over Tillamook Head and south to the site of a beached whale to trade for blubber and oil. On the trip, Clark used ekoli, the Chinook Indian word for whale, to name what is now Ecola Creek. If you want to follow in Clarks footsteps, check out the 2.5-mile Clatsop Loop Trail in the park.

I paused my own hike at Indian Beach, where I enjoyed the wind and waves in the company of kite flyers, tide pool explorers and surfers alike. Upon finishing the round trip and arriving back at Ecola Point, I was greeted by two volleyball games, an almost-full parking lot and smiling faces. To see so many enjoy the park on what once was private land was heartwarming.