Saddle Mountain State Natural Area is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

in northwest

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. It is located in the

Northern Oregon Coast Range The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part o ...

in central

Clatsop County Clatsop County () is the northernmost county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,072. The county seat is Astoria. The county is named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coas ...

, about by road from Seaside. A long hiking trail climbs to the top of Saddle Mountain, which is located in the park. On clear days, the Pacific Ocean,

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

mouth and several of the

Cascade mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

in Washington and Oregon can be seen from the summit.

History

Oregon's State Land Board was given by the federal government on August 11, 1916, to be set aside for use as a park around Saddle Mountain. On November 21, 1928, the state highway commission, who at that time operated Oregon's state parks, received as a gift from Nellie and O. W. Taylor to use for a park. This was the first land incorporated into what was originally known as Saddle Mountain State Park. Astoria and Saddle Mountain from Chinook Point

Astoria and Saddle Mountain from Chinook Point

During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, of the 1930s, the park was the site of a

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

(CCC) camp. The state leased the land to the federal government for two years starting in June 1935. During their stay at the park, the CCC made improvements including building the main trail to the top of the mountain, constructing a road from the Sunset Highway to the main parking lot, the parking lot itself, a picnic area, and restrooms. On December 5, 1935, the Oregon State Land Board donated the they received from the federal government to the state highway commission, as they felt the parks division could better manage the land. This new land, which already been logged, was incorporated into the park. Forest fires burned through many of the trees near the base of the mountain in 1936 and again in 1939. The state built an overnight camping area, a

Quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel with a semi-circular cross-section. The design was developed in the United States based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I. Hund ...

, and a water system complete with reservoir in 1948. The Oregon State Board of Forestry built a

fire lookout A fire lookout (sometimes also called a fire watcher) is a person assigned the duty to look for fire from atop a building known as a fire lookout tower. These towers are used in remote areas, normally on mountain tops with high elevation and ...

tower on the summit of Saddle Mountain in 1953. By 1964, the state had bought five tracts of land totaling and added them to the park, bringing the total to . By 1997 the park had been renamed Saddle Mountain State Natural Area.

Details

Saddle Mountain Road intercepts

U.S. Route 26 U.S. Highway 26 (US 26) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon, to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. Numbered Highway System was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it c ...

east of Necanicum Junction where

Oregon Route 53 Oregon Route 53 is an Oregon state highway that runs through a pair of river valleys in the Oregon Coast range; those of the Necanicum River and the Nehalem River. OR 53 traverses the Necanicum Highway No. 46 of the Oregon state hi ...

meets Route 26. A primary feature of the park is tall Saddle Mountain. From the top of the peak, on clear days, mountains in the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

far to the east can be seen, as well as the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the west and the mouth of the

to the north. Amenities at the park include primitive campsites, restrooms, trails, and picnic facilities. The campground is closed from October 31 to March 1. Natural features in the park include forests and a year-round spring near summit of the mountain. Tree species include cedar, hemlock, and spruce. Other flora include the rare ''Cardamine pattersonii''. A herd of elk have been seen in the park.

References

External links

* * * {{authority control State parks of Oregon Parks in Clatsop County, Oregon Civilian Conservation Corps in Oregon 1928 establishments in Oregon Protected areas established in 1928