The Brooding Yet Dreamlike Oregon Coast at Spring

Published 05/16/2011

(Oregon Coast) – Cloudy days on the Oregon coast are not a bad thing. You may have to repeat that yourself over and over like some sort of mantra to convince yourself of this, but moments like these caught on camera are reasonable proof. Even on darker days, clouds in this area can gather with just enough holes in them to allow the wild colors of sunset through in an absolutely mind-boggling manner.

There’s simply nothing like spring on the coast.

Two stunningly surreal moments emerge at sundown at Yachats. One happens a ways after sunset, when a combination of natural light and sources from the hotels above color the waves in different ways. Then, the most dramatic parts of the waves become a strange mist because of long exposures involved to capture these scenes.

The second moment occurs right about sunset at a little hidden promontory at the village’s southern end called Agate Cove. The purples of twilight cast unreal shades onto the water and then into little pools of sea water at the rocks’ edge.

For more a seriously startling moment, check out Lincoln City’s Taft and its Siletz Bay at night. Here, it truly becomes otherworldly, as a combination of moonlight, street lamps and neon from a nearby business paint this spot the strange colors of a whole new reality.

A bit more on the natural side, Arch Cape – near Cannon Beach – is a mixture of soothing calm and dynamic wild waves here. Even under such overcast conditions, this rather hidden spot can light up in a captivating way. In the background is the rock structure known as Queen Vic – as in the “throne of Queen Victoria.”

There’s a lot happening on this particularly chilly early spring sunset at Seaside. The waning sun pokes through with intense colors, these rays are then bounced around the cloud cover and through the openings in interesting ways, and the entire scene is reflected in the wet sand.

On top of it, Seaside at that particular week was going through an unusually heavy influx of phytoplankton, turning the tides extra sludgy-looking and brown. This is often mistaken for pollution, but it’s a purely natural occurrence and a good thing.

Finally, at a secret spot overlooking Oceanside and its Three Arch Rocks – a spot so high you’re looking down on the gargantuan structures – things really get dramatic.  Such unusual and intense sunsets are not that uncommon on the Oregon coast during spring, as clouds for some reason do an extra set of atmospheric dances and contortions to create such magnificent and engaging moments as these.

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