The Coast Range doesn’t have many lakes, and drivers don’t see any. These three are hidden just south of Highway 26. Soapstone Lake is the best hike for kids, through a homestead meadow and across a brook. Lost Lake is the only one with a boat ramp, so kayaks can keep pace with hikers around the shore. Spruce Run Lake is a pond, but the hike here is the most athletic of the three, climbing a mossy rainforest canyon. You could easily do all three hikes in a weekend, and if so, there’s a lovely campground on the Nehalem River you might try.

To find the Soapstone Lake trailhead, drive Highway 26 . . .

This chapter is an excerpt from 100 Hikes : Oregon Coast