North Head Trails

You can park here at Beard's Hollow, you will find the trailhead marked "Westwind Trail"

You can choose to do a loop trail out to North Head Lighthouse, or continue across the parking lot to continue onto McKenzie Head

You can actually rent this out and stay here for the night. I've linked to the website in this guide.

Call (888) CAMPOUT or (888) 226-7688, or
Washington Telecommunications Relay Service at (800) 833-6388.
Reservable up to nine months in advance.
Two-night minimum stay required (three nights during holidays)

The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, installed in 1856, was obscured to ships approaching from the north by the headland extending southwest from the light. To correct this, a lighthouse was built at North Head, which faces the ocean directly and would be clearly visible to ships traveling from the north. The 65-foot tower stood on a 130-foot cliff. The lens was the first-order lens from Cape Disappointment, and was first lit in 1898. In 1935, the first-order lens was replaced by a fourth-order lens. That lens was eventually replaced by an aerobeacon in the 1950s, and later by a modern optic mounted outside the tower. The light was automated in 1961. Today the lighthouse is part of Cape Disappointment State Park.

You can go inside for a fee of $2.50

This trail will take you down to McKenzie Head.

You will hike through spruce and alder trees, and cross the occasional wooden bridge.

If you choose to start your hike at McKenzie Head enter the North Head trail here.

There is parking here.

There is an old World War II bunker you can explore up here. Don't forget your flashlight.

Also, Clark of Lewis & Clark fame wrote the following in his journal from the top of McKenzie Head.

To the iner extremity of Cape Disapointment passing a nitch in which there is a Small rock island, a Small Stream falls into this nitch from a pond which is imediately on the Sea coast passing through a low isthmus. this Cape is an ellivated circlier [cir-] cular] point covered with thick timber on the iner Side and open grassey exposure next to the Sea and rises with a Steep assent to hight of about 150 or 160 feet above the leavel of the water this cape as also the Shore both on the Bay & Sea coast is a dark brown rock. I crossed the neck of Land low and ½ of a mile wide to the main Ocian, at the foot of a high open hill projecting into the ocian, and about one mile in Si[r]cumfrance. I assended this hill which is covered with high corse grass. descended to the N. of it and camped. [walked] 19 Miles [to-day]." (DeVoto 1997, 287)

Clark and his party of men returned to the base camp on November 20th. A few days later, the Corps of Discovery decided to investigate the south side of the Columbia River, and eventually established Fort Clatsop there as their winter encampment.