North and Central Oregon Coast Tidepool Sites

Explore Marine Gardens with Interpretive Guides

Jun 29, 2009 Linda McDonnell

These sites offer premier guided viewing of tidepools filled with anemones, starfish, sea urchins, tiny crabs and other intertidal life.

Tidepools reveal a hidden world of colorful marine creatures when low tide leaves water-filled depressions in the stone floor of rocky shorelines. Viewing is best when tides reach the minus point. Tide tables are available from visitor centers and businesses all along the Pacific Coast Highway, U.S. 101, which runs the length the Oregon Coast.

The following sites offer excellent exploration of intertidal life with guides or visitor center naturalists to answer questions, and in most cases, hiking and sea bird spotting nearby.

Haystack Rock

Haystack Rock is located offshore in Cannon Beach, just off U.S. Highway 101 an hour-and-a-half west of Portland via U.S. Highway 26.

The 235-foot monolith jutting out of the surf is a designated National Wildlife Refuge and Marine Garden. Tufted puffins and cormorants nest on the slopes of the rock, while below, intertidal creatures fill the tidepools at low tide.

Naturalists and volunteers from the Haystack Rock Awareness Program are available most summer mornings at low tide to help visitors identify various types of sea anemones, sea stars, urchins, tiny shell fish and other animals and plants, plus explain the ecology of the intertidal world.

Naturalists bring spotting scopes, as well, to allow visitors an up-close view of nesting birds high on the rock.

Haystack rock is surrounded by sandy beach, offering a day of beach-walking or play for kids after the tide covers the tidepools.

Yaquina Head

Designated an Outstanding Natural Area, this headland just north of Newport offers some of the best tidepooling on the coast.

Newport is located on U.S. Highway 101, about 110 miles south of Cannon Beach (above).

Like Haystack Rock, Yaquina Head is a Wildlife Refuge for nesting birds that occupy several high monoliths just offshore. Seals and sea lions bask at the base of these rocks.

A lighthouse on the site dates back to 1873.

The tidepools are reached by a long, steep staircase descending to a cobble beach from the parking lot at the top of the headland. At low tide the rocky surface of the expansive marine gardens appears just beyond the cobbles. Rangers are usually onsite to answer questions and point out special sightings.

Yaquina Head also includes five short walking trails leading through a diversity of forest and beach, offering expansive vistas and wildlife viewing.

An interpretive center is open daily with displays covering the natural and human history of Yaquina Head.

A $7 per vehicle fee, good for three days, is charged for entering the site. Yaquina Head is located three miles north of Newport. Signs point the way from Oregon Coast Highway 101.

Cape Perpetua

Continuing south on Highway 101 from Newport, the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area is located about 28 miles south of Newport. This is a large protected area of headland and forest with more than 20 miles of hiking trails, ocean vistas, crashing surf, ancient forest and wildlife, as well as tidepools.

Tidepools are reached via the Captain Cook Trail, which begins near the Cape Perpetua Visitor Information Center. Rangers are often onsite during morning low tide to help visitors identify and interpret the intertidal life.

The Visitor Center is open daily and offers guided naturalist programs, walks and interpretive displays. Summer hours for the center are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Visitor Center can be reached by phone at 541-547-3289.

Tidepool creatures occupy specific zones in the intertidal area. When tides are moderately low, some creatures, such as starfish are visible, while others only reveal themselves at the lowest of tides.

Tidepooling is a rich experience, revealing seldom seen sea life. But caution is necessary for safety. Rocks are usually slippery with wet seaweed, so care is necessary to avoid falls. Visitors are also cautioned to never turn their back on the ocean, as tides or “sneaker waves” can come in quickly and unexpectedly.

Visitors must also be careful not to damage the life underfoot. Collecting intertidal plants or animals is prohibited.

The copyright of the article North and Central Oregon Coast Tidepool Sites in Marine Biology & Oceanography is owned by Linda McDonnell. Permission to republish North and Central Oregon Coast Tidepool Sites in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Tidepool Sea Urchins and Starfish

Tidepooling at Yaquina Head