God’s Thumb Hike: The Best of the Oregon Coast

The Oregon coast is filled with beautiful scenery but God’s Thumb is one of the best hikes you’ll find. The distance from God’s Thumb trailhead to the Oregon coast view is about 4 miles.

Contents

• About God’s thumb Hiking Trail
• God’s Thumb Hike Map
• Where to Park to get to God’s Thumb trailhead
  • Map: Gods Thumb Parking Options

Along the God’s Thumb hiking trail, you’ll also pass The Knoll, which has its own view of Neotsu, Lincoln City, and the surrounding valley that juts up against the coastline to the south. To the north, you can see Cascade Head and the Salmon River estuary that feeds into the Pacific Ocean.

Dog Friendly: Dogs are welcome on this trail but they must be kept on a leash.

About God’s thumb Hiking Trail

The God’s thumb hike is a 4.3 mile, there-and-back trail and is rated as a “moderately challenging” hike by places like Alltrails. This is likely due to the fact there’s a fair bit of elevation and some mud at parts. All things considered, an average person could likely complete the whole hike in 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours.

In the beginning, you ascend up to 599 ft along the god’s thumb trailhead to get to the picturesque spot at the end of the god’s thumb trail. The worst elevation is in the 1st mile but if it’s too intimidating, then you can just hike up to The Knoll.

This only makes the hike length about a mile (2 miles round trip). Plus, it has a great spot for a picnic that overlooks a lot of the same views as god’s thumb including the beach, Oregon coast, and the Lincoln City cityscape.

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God’s Thumb Hike Map

The Gods thumb hike is marked on the trail as the Knoll. To get to Gods thumb you just keep going a bit further than where the Knoll trail ends. The trail itself is well maintained so you likely won’t be confused about where to go once you get started.

If you want a God’s Thumb map to download, you can snag it by clicking on the button below. As you might expect the cell service is spotty on the trail.

The good news is it’s hard to get lost here because there’s just one path to the thumb (not a lot of turns to get lost on) but it’s still good to have. You can predict how far along to are and I put the parking cross streets on there so you’ll have the parking location saved.

Where to Park to get to God’s Thumb trailhead

There are a few places you can park and some will extend this hike longer than it needs to be so I’ll show you where they are so you don’t have to take the long way too.

The closest place to park is NOT where many people say online. It’s labeled as “Knoll Trailhead No.2” on Google Maps. This is at the intersection of NE Sal La Sea DR and NE Port DR. It’s a residential area and there are less than 10 designated spots here for the trail so, get there early if you want to make sure you snag one.

Disclaimer: If you choose to park at one of the other parking locations, you are going to have to hike a bit longer. Some of this is through the forest but some of it is on a gravel road at a steep incline. It may not feel too bad on the way there but you are likely going to feel it on the way back.

Map: Gods Thumb Parking Options

1. Knoll Trailhead No.2 (Closest)
   • 6695 Port Dr, Lincoln City, OR 97367
2. The Knoll at Cascade Villages Head Trail
   • NE Devils Lake Blvd, Lincoln City, OR 97367
3. The Knoll Open Space Trailhead (Farthest)
   • NE Devils Lake Blvd, Lincoln City, OR 97367

Safety disclaimer

Once you get to the endpoint of the trail you’ll be at the thumb. From here, you can start walking downward and out toward the coast but be aware there are some steep drops on the sides. If you have good hiking shoes, it’s dry, and aren’t exhausted then you should be a-okay. But, there are conditions when it’s probably best to not go out all the way.

The pathway out to stand on God’s thumb is a steep upward climb to get to the flat area at the top. The top could safely have 1-5 people on it at a time.

You do have support on both sides of the path as you get up there. The trail is an eroded part in between the raised ground to your left and right which allows you to pull yourself up or use your hands for support if you need it.

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Other Oregon coastal hikes

The coastline of Oregon is one of our favorite places to hike so if you dig God’s Thumb then we have plenty of Oregon coast hike ideas for ya. You can also check out our social channels for more nature/hiking videos & photos and all the latest adventures from around the Pacific Northwest.

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Final Thoughts

• Park at one of the closer spots if you can.
  • Recommended parking: Knoll Trailhead No.2
• Stop at The Knoll for a picnic or an easier hike.
• Be careful climbing out to God’s Thumb.
• Pack plenty of water. It’s steep at points.