Oregon Coast Videos: Sneaker Wave / Storm and Spooky Tunnel

Published 11/28/21 at 4:32 PM PST
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast) – Winter brings some gnarly sights to the Oregon coast, sometimes even spooky. Then again, some places have that eerie feel the whole year round.

Case in point: two videos from Oregon Coast Beach Connection that put such things on display.

Ever wondered what it was like to wander through that tunnel at Oceanside? (If you've never done it yourself yet). Have you wondered what Hug Point near Cannon Beach looked like in a storm? Or maybe you haven't encountered a sneaker wave yourself?

Here, you get to experience all three.

To start it off, there's the video of the tunnel at Oceanside, on the north Oregon coast. This structure was built back in the 1920s by blasting a hole through the tiny town's Maxwell Point. It had bundles of other extra features initially, including a raised platform that went around the headland and allowed access to this secretive beach. That was called an Angel's Walk and as you can imagine it did not last long in Oregon's coastal storm environment. Now, there's simply a somewhat crude tunnel there.

Oceanside's tunnel was covered by storm and slide debris for many years in the ‘70s and ‘80s until it was cleared, but periodically going down for the count as storms or landslides covered it again.

The beach on the other side is called Tunnel Beach, but also nicknamed Star Trek Beach for some structures that resemble objects found in two episodes of the original series.

The video of the wild Oregon coast storm takes place at Hug Point, just south of Cannon Beach. Taken in early 2011, you can hear the winds howl around the camera and see plenty of crazed waves battering the beach. It's interesting to note how different the beach looks at this time of year due to erosion than during the rest of the year.

It's also a tad frightening to see the waves so close to the access point. Normally, they are some 100 to 300 feet away. See Hug Point under other conditions.

The ending gets a bit intense, showing a sudden sneaker wave fire off and make a beeline towards the camera. The Oregon Coast Beach Connection cameraman makes a run for it as the wave does indeed close in faster than it may look on camera, and these waves aren't to be trifled with.

The camera gets shut off immediately, but what you don't see is the equipment and the person behind it get a bit soaked. The wave was a good six inches high which can result in quite the soaking when it hits something – like a human.

Photo Steven Bash

However disturbing that sneaker wave encounter might've been, it's nothing compared to the above shot of Hug Point, taken during a major storm event where the entire cove is filled with churning, angry sea. This is the next cove over from the one in the video, just a different vantage point.

More on these areas below:

MORE PHOTOS BELOW

Star Trek Beach in Oceanside: 20 years ago at left, when there was the "portal." At right, the arch is currently gone.

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