Ecola landslide alert
- Ecola State Park posted news of a landslide that affected trail access and safety. - The social update warned visitors to avoid specific shoreline and cliff paths. - Local authorities are monitoring the site and urging hikers to follow posted detours. (x.com)
A landslide has closed the west end of Ecola State Park’s Clatsop Loop Trail, and Oregon parks officials say the area is unsafe to enter. (kgw.com) The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department confirmed the closure on Sunday, April 19, and said there is no timeline for reopening. The shutdown affects the western section of Clatsop Loop, including the Lighthouse Trail. (kgw.com, katu.com) KOIN reported on April 18 that the slope was “actively failing,” and Oregon parks staff described conditions on that section as “extremely hazardous.” The closed stretch sits north of Indian Beach and south of Hikers Camp. (koin.com, aol.com) The closure comes less than two weeks after Ecola State Park reopened on April 7 from a broader shutdown caused by December 2025 landslides. Those earlier slides had kept the park closed since December 11, 2025, while crews cleared damage and repaired access. (statesmanjournal.com, oregonlive.com) Ecola’s trail system runs along steep ocean bluffs north of Cannon Beach, and Clatsop County lists the park as a recurring erosion trouble spot. County hazard pages say undercutting along the cliffs has repeatedly triggered slides that damage roads and trails and have at times threatened the main entrance. (stateparks.oregon.gov, clatsopcounty.gov) The park is also the subject of a recent Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries risk report focused on landslide hazard at Ecola State Park. That state study was published in 2025 as agencies were already dealing with repeated slope failures on the headland. (d3itl75cn7661p.cloudfront.net) For visitors, the immediate change is simple: the cliffside route is not a detour-friendly scramble. Parks officials told hikers to stay out of closure zones and use only posted access routes while crews and local authorities keep watching the slope. (kgw.com, katu.com) For now, Ecola is open in part, but one of its best-known coastal trail segments is off-limits again, only days after the park’s spring reopening. (statesmanjournal.com, kgw.com)
