Berry Hill Lookout

Berry Hill Lookout is a set of viewpoints atop a low rock hill inside Berry Hill Campground. This is a short summit walk, not a drive-up roadside stop; I’d make the climb for the wide view across the park’s coastal lowlands if you have an hour and don’t mind a steep ascent.

The trail starts in the trees, then climbs more steeply toward the rocky top. From several viewpoints, the Long Range Mountains rise behind a patchwork of coastal forest, ponds and bogs. It’s a broad, low view: look for pale openings of water and marsh between the dark forest bands rather than expecting one peak to fill the scene. Berry Hill itself is a low rock knob that stood as an island just after the last ice age, when sea levels were higher. Waves polished rocks on its flanks about 10,000 years ago, and those marks are still visible. For a photo, frame a pond with some foreground spruce; the trees give the open lowlands a sense of scale.