Unforgettable Colors of the Oregon Coast at Night

Published 04/15/2012

(Oregon Coast) – There are times of the year when the beaches are grossly neglected and underrated. There are places along the Oregon coast that stay hidden from crowds – somehow. But there is also a time of each 24-hour cycle that the sun takes to go around the Earth that is horribly overlooked. There is a point in each day that is forgotten on the coastline: the nighttime.

Sure, dawn and dusk can be spectacular for the wild colors. Of course, catching the wave in daylight is an exceptionally beautiful thing. But it's at night the coast can really shine with some exceptional colors you can't see any other way.

One major case in point is the photo at the top, of a summer starscape at the top of Cape Foulweather, near Depoe Bay. When the sky is clear enough, astronomy rises to new heights in this area.

Depoe Bay itself, just after dusk, presents some always-incredible colors as well.

More striking scenes are notable a ways south at Newport, where given the right foggy conditions, the lights of Yaquina Bay turn the nocturnal bay into a wonderland of heretofore unseen colors.

Up north, towards Cannon Beach and Manzanita, Arch Cape can really let the stars shine. A variety of gasses in the atmosphere and influences from various light sources taint the nighttime sky above the ocean a variety of colors. The pitch black and unlit conditions of this beach make for even more stunning starry discoveries.

A little ways up the road, closer to Cannon Beach, Hug Point is seen here under a strongly moonlit night. The heavy presence of that light allows a strange, “fake daylight” kind of situation to arise. The stars barely shine through here. It almost looks completely like day except for the off-kilter colors and misty, soupy sea (which is the result of a long exposure photograph).

An equally, strangely puzzling scene can be found at Cape Kiwanda at Pacific City after dark. Here, as a group of beach revelers strike up the tunes via the car stereo and light up a bonfire beneath the looming presence of Kiwanda, the stars faintly poke through the illumination of the moon to the east. It too almost looks like daylight, or an oddly, extra beautiful dusk.

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