Tide Pools

EXPERIENCE THE BEST OF THE OREGON COAST'S "TIDE POOLS OF LIFE":

Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is a narrow point of land jutting due west into the Pacific Ocean on the north end of Newport, this headland provides visitors with one of the most accessible, safe wildlife and ocean-viewing locations on the Pacific Coast. Handicap-accessible tidepools constructed at Quarry Cove are being occupied by an ever-increasing array of marine life including kelp crabs, sea urchins, sea anemones and an occasional sea star or octopus. Wildlife-watchers experience incredibly close views of nesting sea birds, and marine mammals resting on the offshore rocks, as well as the annual migrations of gray whales. Open year-round from dawn to dusk, with the Yaquina Head Interpretive Center open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Yaquina Head Lighthouse opening at noon daily.

Haystack Rock is a 235-foot tall monolith on the Oregon coast in the northwestern United States, the third-tallest such structure in the world. A popular tourist destination, the rock is adjacent to the beach and accessible by foot during low tide. Haystack Rock tide pools are home to many intertidal animals, including sea stars, anemone, crabs, chitons, limpets, and sea slugs. The rock is also a refuge for many sea birds including terns and puffins. Haystack Rock is located approximately 1.5 miles (2.2 km) south of downtown Cannon Beach in Clatsop County, Oregon, approximately 80 miles west of Portland. The nearest major road is U.S. Route 101. Haystack Rock is part of the Tolovana Beach State Recreation Site and is managed by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department below the mean high water (MHW) level, and above the MHW level by the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Located on the Southern Oregon Coast at the mouth of the Coquille River, Bandon Oregon is 90 miles north of the California border, about a 90 minute drive to Interstate 5 at Roseburg, five hours by car from Portland and about nine hours from San Francisco. The sandy beach has lots of tide pools and large rocks for exploring.