Portland Magazine
Biology
Environmental Studies
June 1, 2022
The Oregon coast offers an of embarrassment of marine-life riches.
Story by Tara Prestholdt
Illustration by Marisol Ortega
THE NORTH COAST has a few gems like Ecola State Park, Hug Point, and Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, but for more biodiversity start with Tillamook County, specifically Three Grace Rocks near Garibaldi and Oceanside State Recreation Area. In the Newport area, try Otter Rock Oregon Marine Reserve, Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, and protected Marine Garden, or Seal Rock State Recreation Site. Quarry Cove at Yaquina Head has a tide pool observation platform that is ADA wheelchair accessible, the only one of its kind in Oregon. If home base is closer to Yachats, two places I will never tire of are Strawberry Hill (mile marker 169 on Highway 101) and Bob Creek (mile marker 170) in Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve. The best central-southern spots are the protected areas of Cape Arago, Cape Blanco, and Coquille Point. To reach the pools in Cape Arago State Park (middle or south cove) and Cape Blanco State Park, visitors will have to endure a steep and narrow hike, but Coquille Point has a wooden staircase for easier access and great views of the puffins that live in the Oregon Islands Wildlife Refuge. And for the truly venturesome, mile marker 344 intersects with a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail; follow it down to the beach and head a mile north on a barely-there trail to Whiskey Creek, the best place to see the shaggy, fuchsia Hopkin’s rose. Wherever you choose, I hope you discover a new appreciation for the vibrant flora and fauna of Oregon’s rocky intertidal zone.
TARA PRESTHOLDT is a professor of Biology and Environmental Studies. She teaches classes on marine biology and our oceans at UP, and her research focuses on the ecology, evolution, and the future of marine organisms.
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