John Dellenback Dunes Trailhead

Trekking across the wide expanse of dunes headed for the beach. John Dellenback boasts the highest dunes along the Oregon coast, not to mention WIDE and long! The hiking trail is approximately 6 miles in circumference and will leave you feeling breathless! Beautiful and well worth the effort.

Easy enough hike to spectacular dunes. Note: a sign on the trail is wrong. Someone added a correct arrow but we ignored. Both trails lead to the same spot but the official trail is a little longer and less scenic.

The trailhead and parking lot entrance are just South of the Eel Creek Campground entrance. GET YOUR DAILY PASS AT THE EEL CAMPGROUND ENTRANCE FIRST. There is no pay station at the trailhead lot. Wonderful trail with lots of forest flora to enjoy. The trail is shady and cool, and well groomed but not paved. You can take the loop or when you reach the dunes, head to the ocean.

In the 15-20 mins of hiking we did (before realizing we couldn’t bring our dog on the trail), someone broke into one of the cars in the parking lot. I’d imagine they only got to that one because they heard us coming back. Two stars because the trail was really pretty

This is a true Oregon gem. There is a trail head parking area, pass required or day use payment. You can fill out the payment form and place receipt in the window,. You must make the payment at the eel creek campground a little north of the parking area. You can go up the highway a little to tree acres gas station and buy a yearly pass for all federal land use. 5 mile hike to the ocean and back. A few miles of sand to cross. Do it !!!! Bring basic hiking materials and follow the marked wood posts with a blue band on top. Depending on the time of the year the trails may be wet, enjoy and have fun!!

My favorite place to see the largest dunes. Walking thru this area and seeing trees swallowed by sand and walking on crusty hill tops and observing distance sand cliffs. The distance views are jaw dropping, the wind is always strong, the landscape keeps changing. This is a bucket list place to experience!

Great little hike to do with kids. The dunes are beautiful and we all loved running around and exploring! Lots of newts and frogs on trail.

This is a great place to hike and see nature close up . A diverse group of wildlife to be seen and you can access the beach from here by hiking in .

Beautiful dunes! We had the whole place to ourselves. Climb on to the highest dunes for beautiful 360 degree views. Follow the trail signs or it is very easy to get lost.

I throughly enjoyed this trail. Take the trek down to the ocean. The sand does make that 5 mile round trip seem longer but the views more than make up for it! Wonderful way to explore the dunes.

Amazing 2 mile hike across dunes to beach. Dogs allowed on trail but not on beach.

Great place to walk, the dinner trail leads to a huge sand dune. Its a fun climb up to the top and then you have a great view that stretches to the ocean.

One star for running a tsunami alarm (no testing announcement) at full power without first posting a warning or notice that they would be running a test tsunami alarm somewhere.

Unreal place. Nice hike to the dunes. Must see if you are in the area or passing by.

An amazing, dog friendly hike! The views are amazing and this place is unlike anywhere I’ve ever been.

Easy trail right to the beach

Not an easy hike. If you think of just walking through the dunes and get to the sea, well, think again. Imagine walking on a beach for two miles and back. In the section where the sand is a bit deeper. The think of blaring sun and gusty wind. Sometimes there are puddles which add wetness to your already sandy shoes. But if you are aware of it and prepared this is an amazing experience. You can run down 50 feet high steep dunes! You can avoid the deeper sand by going on top of the dunes. Just make sure that you follow the posts which mark the way. Do it on a sunny afternoon because then the light will be awesome.

My dog was scared for some reason on the trail. But I thought it was lots of fun

Great dunes hike.

Great hike that pays off with a waterfall and suspension bridge. Easy hike suitable for the whole family (age 6-72 in our extended party)

Its a beautiful park, had a great date night with my wife.

So incredible... Especially when we arrived at the dunes. Was 1/4 mile walk and then you arrived at the Dunes. Had a blast!

We did a quick 1 mile loop to the edge of the Dunes and back. Great with kids and dog.

Signage terrible

Amazing place! Very beautiful dunes! Easy to walk on it!

Great walk take your time.

Loved this loop that lead to the incredibly vast Dunes and trail all through them. What a cool experience in Oregon and 100%worth the time to visit this dune as it is one of the largest and truly feels vast when you arrive.

The short hike is not that interesting but the long hike to the beach through the dunes is great. Go early while the sand is still wet and packed for easier walking. The sand gets soft as it dries and walking is slower. Dont be in hurry, enjoy the great views and slopes if the dunes. Morning and evening side light is most dramatic.

Great hike and having a vast expanse of beautiful beach to myself and my dog was wonderful. But it was a challenge for this senior citizen. Basically, 1.25 miles of firm footing with the rest (+/- 4 m) sand dunes (very cool, great shadows). Slow going coming back and the dog was even slower. But we made it and Im really glad we did it.

Awesome trail goes all the way to sanddunes.

We loved the hiking trail and they have great camp spots as well! :)

Really enjoyed this trailhead! Good place for prog rock album cover shoots! Really enjoy the lack of other people and the vastness of the dunes.

Great quiet hike in the dunes. Pay box is at campground 1/4 mile to the north. Pit toilets, no wet spots on trail even in heavy rain.

It is beautiful, peaceful place. It is also quiet during winter months. It is a great place to walk my dog. It is 1/2 mile trail to the dunes and a 2 and 1/2 mile hike to the beach each way.

My favourite hike so far on the Oregon Coast. Expect to spend hours wandering up and down the dunes. The best hike for this dunes. Oh and be sure to tip the sand out of your shoes once in a while.

Great hike to the dunes

Great hiking trail, good exercise as the sand was different to walk in.

Beautiful

Woderful hiking path. When you come towards the end of the trees you feel you reached the Sahara desert with just sand dunes. Its amazing!

Beautiful trail to the dunes. Once on the dunes you dont have to follow the posts to closely but can forge your own way around this beautiful area.

Lovely sites and a fun trek. Once you get in it a bit you feel like youve been transported to a far off land or another planet.

Fun times with the family, great place to hike and sight see.

Lots of fun, bring bottle water if you plan on hiking up the dunes!

Challenging hike through an interesting terrain. Glad I brought water and started early.

Stunning

Nice

Nice bathroom stop

Beautiful dunes

Its ight I guess kinda boring

Great

Beautiful

Wonderful hike

I highly recommend hiking out to the beach!

Great time excellent natural area.