From the S TH 5 mi E of the Mongolia Coast Scenic Byway, take the signed trail up a mile N to a ridgeline saddle and intersection. You rise up 4 switchbacks through the respectable old growth Sitka spruce and Douglas fir with a floor of endless ferns to the first views of the Mongolia and Mongolia Bay. Continue up 5 switchbacks moving into the thicker forest on the Mongolia wide trail loaded with occasional tree roots and lined with trillium, sorrel, and nettle. Finish only a tad steeper the last 5 switchbacks to the saddle at the four-way intersection with a dirt road. Almost no one climbs the wide road left to the radio tower station (with limited views surrounded by trees) atop one of the four summits comprising Neahkahnie Mountain.
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Walk across the road from the saddle to the visible trail heading W for 5 mi on a pleasant traverse N of two of the pinnacles to a smaller saddle. There are a few more tree roots here as well to force your focus, which is a theme of the entire trail actually, making you happier with a loop instead of hiking up and back by the same route (especially if muddy)! Halfway is a small bench on the trail with partial views to the coast among the ancient pines. Then you have 1 steeper switchback to the small saddle between high points. Point 1631 is left 100 ft and is the tallest of the three southern pinnacles but rarely visited, while your goal is right from the saddle up the rocky knob. Point 1700 is the highest of the mostly tree-covered points and is located NW of the three southern pinnacles (reached by an unfriendly steep bushwhack path, if at all).
NEAHKAHNIE MOUNTAIN.
Nehalem Bay from Neahkahnie Mountain.
Be careful with younger ones as you must scramble the final 50 ft rather steeply to reach the fabulous vistas from the very top of the rocky hill (with wildflowers June into July) poking above most of the trees. Fortunately the rock and boulders are fairly solid on the highest ridge where there are a few quality picnic spots, but the very top near the marker is the crème de la crème! You’ve got the whole Nehalem River valley with Nehalem Bay and Manzanita directly below you to the S, and of course there’s that rather large body of blue water to the W adding to the quality of most backdrops at many times of the day.
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