Seal Rock Beaches

Seal Rock's beaches are each unique and beautiful in their own way.

SEAL ROCK STATE PARK

Seal Rock Sunset by B. Goody

While the geology is millions of years old, the ocean life here is constant and thrives. This is one of the few places where you can walk up and touch these sentinels of the sea and appreciate all they have seen in their lifetime as do the birds and marine animals who live here.

There is an ADA-accessible paved path going to a viewing platform. The paved path continues down to the beach where you can scramble over rocks and logs before hitting the beach. Restrooms are available. The paved parking lot is not suited for RV-turnarounds.

Seal Rock State Park is noted for its excellent tidepools of anemones, assorted starfish and sealife. Elephant Rock on the north end of the beach shows the entire profile of an elephant laying down, with its trunk in the water (water line is at the bridge of the trunk) and its rear end up by the beach. There's even an African-elephant-shaped ear! The central cluster of rocks is known by locals as Castle Rock because it looks like the walls and roofs of a castle, especially at sunset. At low tide, you can walk out to Castle Rock on a bridge of pebbles, but don't tarry too long because the tide comes in daily.

There is one little round 'pill box' rock on the south end of Seal Rock State Park beach where you can see sea lions lounging and sunning themselves every day. They stay with their bodies touching side by side on the rock as long as the rock is exposed and then they get washed off the rock by the incoming tide. But they come back the next day and the sunning starts all over again. This pill box rock is not accessible by humans, but it is very visible.

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DRIFTWOOD STATE PARK

DRIFTWOOD STATE PARK is a day-use-only state park found about 2 1/4 miles south of the village of SEAL ROCK. Due to the location of the headlands to the north and the Alsea Bay to the south, Driftwood Beach has a large accumulation of logs, limbs and giant tree stumps that wash up during heavy surf.

The strong winds whip the sand into tiny sculptures and waves creating interesting landscapes and colorful agates can be found along the shoreline here as well. While these logs can be dangerous to play on, they make for a one-of-a-kind photo opportunity because you may return the next day to find them rearranged or gone altogether!

Driftwood Park is one of the few beaches where you can walk at high tide. While other beaches are completely covered with water, Driftwood Park always seems to have some space on which to walk.

Driftwood Park is okay for RVs as there is an circular-paved road around the parking spaces for RVs to drive around. There are also restrooms.

Driftwood Beach Sunset by D. Brodie

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SEAL ROCK WAYSIDE

Click to enlarge Seal Rock beach (photo by Gary Halverson, Oregon State Archives)

Located just north of Seal Rock at Milepost 150 on Highway 101 (Curtis Street is on the east side of the highway), this park provides direct beach access and a limited gravel parking area. Walking south, you deadend in a mile or so by the cliffs at Seal Rock State Park. This is a popular agate hunting area. Walking north, at low tide, you can walk all the way to Ona Park (Brian Booth Park). Agates can be found in this direction as well (including blue agates).

The photo on the left was taken from Seal Rock State Park. The beach below is the beach you would walk going south at Seal Rock Wayside. It is known for good agate hunting.

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BRIAN BOOTH PARK (formerly ONA PARK and BEAVER CREEK PARK)

Click to enlarge Ona beach (photo by Finetooth)

Brian Booth Park (1.6 miles north of Seal Rock on Highway 101) now emcompasses both Ona Park and Beaver Creek Park. Ona Park, on the west side of Highway 101, has all the facilities of a state park, including restrooms and picnic tables. A lot of grass, paved paths that are easily accessible from the paved parking lot. Beaver Creek is along the south side of Ona Park.

Beach access is via a small wooden bridge that goes over Beaver Creek to the beach (photo on left).

Beaver Creek Park, on the east side of Highway 101, has hiking trails. Kayaking is also done on Beaver Creek. Planning is underway to expand the hiking and camping facilities of the Beaver Creek Park area.


All photographs are copyrighted and remain the property of the original named photographer with all rights reserved. The original Seal Rock Community site was built by Belinda Goody, who also took many of the photographs.