Intriguing Travel Tips: Three Short Oregon Coast Hikes You Don't Know

Published 01/03/23 at 3:29 PM
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast) – Every once in awhile, a beach discovery gets made that seems to almost change you. It's a revelation of sort: a spot you never imagined was there, a find on the sands, or maybe just a modest eatery that rocked your world. (Above: Silver Point, photo Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

There's still a lot about the beaches of the Oregon coast you don't know. Here's a trio of places that may blow your mind, but they take a bit of a walk.

A lot of people don't realize – for some reason – that there's way more to Cannon Beach than Haystack Rock. Indeed, there's more than meets many eyes: more than the inviting sands of the Tolovana area, Midtown or that stretch to the north by Ecola Creek.

Photo courtesy Seaside Aquarium

Head to the very southern edge, just before the town dead-ends into Highway 101, and there are a couple of unknown beach accesses at the ends of these wee little streets. Hit the sands from here and walk southward, perhaps a quarter mile, and you'll reach those engaging rock structures beneath Silver Point – one of the main viewpoints just south of town.

You know those popular viewpoints just before you get into Cannon Beach, with rock walls and interpretive signs? That is now above you.

This one is a wonderland full of unique sights. Popular with surfers, you'll encounter cliffs with odd horizontal lines on them, as if something from the ice age had carved its rocky signatures into the face. A sea cave is sometimes visible in the big blob rock at the tideline – but not accessible.

Even more intriguing are the small rock chunks poking up out of the sand (depending on sand levels), and these are often covered in slimy sea algae goo that gives them a hairy appearance. It makes them look like Cousin It from the Addams family, but a horde of them.

Two years ago this place created a stir when 18 million-year-old bedrock showed: Oregon Coast Storms Reveal What's Beneath Cannon Beach at Silver Point

From here you can keep walking south from here and you'll encounter the edge of Arcadia State Park. Even more about this spot and its intriguing sights and geology at the Hotels in Cannon Beach - Where to eat - Cannon Beach Maps and Virtual Tours and at North Oregon Coast Cliff Face Speaks Volumes of Geologic History.

If you blink you'll miss it. Approximately one mile north of Pacific City, and a tad shy of Tierra Del Mar, there's a tiny unmarked road zipping off into the brush towards the ocean. It appears to have no name. No designation for the road. Yet it's still technically part of the vast Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area – and actually known as McPhillips Beach.

This is an Oregon coast treasure trove of fun and funky stuff, including bundles of basalt wonders near the beach entrance. It's also one of the few sandy areas where you can drive your car – for better or for worse – but this does come in handy to go south almost a mile to hit the mysterious northern edge of Cape Kiwanda.

There's much to see and gawk at here, including the awe-inspiring ocean canyon that sits tucked away from any other vantage point.

You can still drive around McPhillips Beach up into one part of Tierra Del Mar, however driving is no longer allowed north of Tierra Del Mark or the immediate southern face of Cape Kiwanda (by the brew pub and boat launch). Hotels in Pacific City - Where to eat - Pacific City Maps and Virtual Tours

Yachats is always chock full of secrets hiding in plain sight, with dozens of intriguing pocket beaches lying in between the massive basalt blobs and slabs that make up most of the area.

Yet there are chunks of Yachats that are rather unknown – and crazier still – all broad, sandy beaches much like those in Waldport to the north.

At the town's extreme northern edges, look for Milepost 161 and a host of streets named after states. This is a residential neighborhood, so take great care when parking or traversing these tiny roads. Turn into Oregon St. and you'll run into a fascinating little beach access that's a bit like a tunnel. Or wander north a few blocks and find others, like the one with a sort of suspension bridge that hugs the cliffs and reminds one of something out of the Swiss Family Robinson flick.

Around here, there's often not another soul. Soft sands are bordered by sandstone cliffs that light up to a vibrant gold on sunset days, and these features sometimes curve inward into engaging cove-like structures. Other beach treasures often abound here because there's usually not very many to pick the area clean.

Hotels in Yachats - Where to eat - Yachats Maps and Virtual Tours

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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