Interesting Beach Finds for Popular Holiday Week on Oregon Coast

Published 2007

Ancient stumps at Hug Point popped up last year, which may be as much as 80,000 years old

(Oregon Coast) – The week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is a big one for the Oregon coast, as thousands are expected to hit the 362 miles between Brookings and the southern Washington coast. Renting a large vacation home for the family is extremely popular, as many spend much of the winter break there, all the way through the new year. Others will take advantage of the vacation days to line coastal bluffs and look for whales.

It’s a time full of interesting sights on the beaches, as recent storms have brought a bevy of stuff onto the sand or changed the landscape in some way. There are also numerous other delights that many aren’t aware of, like the strange ghost forests of some beach spots, exceptional beachcombing and aspects to crabbing and shellfish.

Of course, the most popular is the Whale Watching Spoken Here week, with begins December 26 and runs until January 1.

Whale Watch spot above Manzanita

During this week, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., volunteers will be stationed at overlooks and parks all over the Oregon coast, helping the public learn about gray whales, and spot them in the ocean. Volunteers will be at the Whale Watch Center in Depoe Bay from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This time around could be an especially engaging one, as officials say whale sightings have been running at record levels all year. Morris Grover, with the Whale Watch Center in Depoe Bay, said the rush is already on, with whales well on their way during their southbound migration.

In a press release, Grover said sightings of whales have been smokin’ all year long, and it could mean a bonanza of whales and their tails for tourists to the Oregon coastline.

“Weather always plays a part in determining how many whales are seen,” Grover said. "Otherwise, I see no reason why our counts shouldn’t follow this year’s trend. The number of sightings recorded last spring was the highest it has been in more than 10 years. We also had a very good summer for whale watching on the central coast.”

Morris Grover, head of the Whale Watch Center in Depoe Bay, searches for whales at Newport's Nye Beach area

Weather can interfere with whale watching - not because they are annoyed or frightened by heavy surf, but because tall waves make it hard to see them.

"Rough weather presents a visual whale watching problem,” Grover said. “A whale’s back or tail usually would only be visible about three to six feet above the water line. A four- to eight-foot wave would make them ‘invisible’ to watchers looking across the waves. Even the whale’s spout that could be as tall as 12 feet is usually blown sideways by the wind, making it only three to four feet tall. We have seen whales during storms, but that is usually when a swell pushes the whale up to where we can see it.”

Harvesting of shellfish is now allowed north of Lincoln City, such as Pacific City (pictured here)

For those who want a little more hands-on experience mussels and crabbing will be just the thing – and good timing, too.

Snagging your own shellfish from north Oregon coast beaches is allowed again, after toxins caused the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to ban harvesting from beaches of Lincoln City up to the Columbia River. Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning toxins levels were tested recently and found to be within safe limits in that more than 100 miles of coastline.

That section had been closed to mussel-taking since October 15. This now means the entire coast is open to recreational harvesting by the public as well as commercially,

Call the state’s Shellfish Hotline at (800) 448-2474.

Newport's scenic bay

For crabbers, in spite of the often harsh weather this part of December can bring, this is an excellent time to snag crab. For those who want to purchase crab that’s already been caught, the famed Oregon Dungeness crab is plentiful and fairly inexpensive now.

According to the ODFW, it is a delicious time to catch your own crab as well.

“Right now is the prime time for crabbing,” said Brandon Ford, an ODFW spokesman in Newport. “It’s the best conditions throughout winter and into the spring. The pre-season testing of ocean crab for the commercial fishery showed that crabs had hard shells and were full of meat. And crabbing in the bays and estuaries has improved in the last couple of weeks.”

Newport's Yaquina Bay is one of the best places on the coast for crabbing

Ford said that crabmeat is typically at its best this time of year, as they are plump and full of meat after filling their new shells with body mass since the molting season that happened earlier this year.

Commercial crab season opened December 1, and this means that the ocean is open for crabbing to private citizens as well. There are, of course, a limited number of nice, calm days for this endeavor, but Ford said those hardy souls interested in this adventurous form of crabbing are growing in numbers – and they are often rewarded.

“When ocean conditions permit, anglers can combine crabbing and bottom fishing in one trip,” Ford said. “I believe there are more people looking for those opportunities. The crabs are generally bigger in the deep ocean, although it is often a matter of luck, like any sport fishing.”

You must have an annual shellfish license to go crabbing – the cost of which is $6.50 per person. See www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish/crab/, or call ODFW’s Newport office at 541-867-4741.

Big tides have cut into sand levels on the beaches

Recent storms are making for some spectacular beach finds. Some true oddities are beginning to manifest themselves on the sands, in terms of beachcombing and how the beach spots are changing their looks.

“The beaches have been stripped of so much sand it has uncovered fossil rock and trees,” said Judy Joubert, owner of Stonecrest B&B just south of Newport. Her area is chock full of freaky stuff starting to show up. “Great time for agate and rock hunting as well as viewing unusual beach and bluff erosion. The wild ocean, beach and bluffs are providing great opportunities for any amateur or professional photographer."

Newport beach expert Guy DiTorrice agreed.

Beach erosion will make rocky objects like these - next to Cape Perpetua - be more visible

“There’s been great sand movement along the central Oregon coast the last week,” DiTorrice said. “The beaches are opening up with good gravel-cobble showing for agate, jasper, driftwood and fossils. South of Newport beaches are showing good rock, a wide color selection of agates and jaspers - and nice sizes - as well as some fossils.”

DiTorrice said to look for this at the following beaches:

South of Lost Creek State Park

North of Seal Rock (the city)

North and South of Theil Creek (south of Newport Municipal Airport)

Coal Creek (north of Newport and north of Carmell Knoll)

North of Moolack Creek (north of Newport and south of Carmell Knoll)

He added there are dangers to look out for, beyond just the potential power of the ocean.

“Dirt path accesses can be very eroded and extremely slick, even when sunny,” DiTorrice said. “Be very wary of tides and unexpected ocean swells coming onto the beaches. Be safe. Have fun. Enjoy winter break.”

Ghost forest at Neskowin

In Cape Lookout State Park, the 1000-year-old remnants of what many call a “ghost forest” is practically a yearly occurrence, and these interesting nuggets of ancient nature just recently popped up again, said state geomorphologist Jonathon Allan. They are unearthed by storms, which erode the beaches and its sand.

“It’s something that regularly re-exposes these,” Allan said.

In Neskowin, the stumps are about 4,000 years old, according to Roger Hart, who works with Allan at the Newport office of the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. These have been showing themselves all year, making for spectacular and surreal photographs. They look like the remnants of old man-made piers, but they are, in fact, leftovers of an ancient forest that was swallowed up by quickly rising sand and sea levels, killing them and yet preserving them in the prehistoric salt water.

"Red Towers" made of sand cemented by iron are also found beneath the sand. These were uncovered briefly last year at Hug Point State Park

Last winter, sand levels were scoured to about six to ten feet below normal on the north coast, revealing ancient stumps at Hug Point that Seaside geologist Tom Horning said could be as old as 80,000 years old – although it’s likely they’re around 4,000 years old as well.

Tiffany Boothe, with the aquarium, said erosion has really cut into some of the dunes on the side facing the sea. “You can see the blades of grass beneath the top layer of sand,” she said.

It was Boothe and aquarium manager Keith Chandler who earlier this month made the most startling and dramatic discovery that came from the big storm, with a ten-mile stretch of sand covered in ocean debris both living and not. The beaches between Gearhart and Warrenton are literally littered with various types of marine life.

Your beachcombing may uncover incidents like this: called "ocean burps." Storms churn up large amounts of sundry objects and dump them onto the beaches - like this mixture of debris and crabs

Boothe said this open tract of sandy beach is usually barren, with the exception of logs, seaweed, and small shells. But for a while it was crawling with life.

Members of the Seaside Aquarium found a stranded giant turtle just before Christmas, likely tossed up by high surf and stormy conditions. It was still alive.

The high tides of the last few days and more such stormy conditions are expected to accelerate the process of erosion on Oregon beaches and toss more interesting goo and creatures.

“Just keep looking at what you find lying around the sand,” Chandler said. “You’ll find some real cool stuff – some of it may be alive.”

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