Ecola State Park and Hug Point Updates: Two Major Oregon Coast Parks Still Not Reopened

Published 03/25/26 at 7:25 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – NOTE: ECOLA IS OPEN AS OF APRIL 6: Pictures of a Reconstruction: N. Oregon Coast's Ecola State Park Damage and Rework

This has been a bummer year for longtime fans of two major north Oregon coast beach attractions, and unfortunately the bad news may linger for a bit longer.

Back in November, the Cannon Beach-area fave Hug Point was shut down after king tides took out the stairway down to the beach as well as part of the cliff. Then in December, landslides along the roads going into Indian Beach and Ecola State Park closed down that area for awhile.

Both require a great deal of reconstruction work – and they are still not open.

Oregon Coast Beach Connection asked Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) for an update, and neither have a firm date for reopening, but the good news is that Ecola State Park is getting closer.

For the roads going into Ecola State Park, OPRD's Mike Baden said construction crews were almost sealing the deal when that run of bad weather hit. There's is no firm date but they're getting close.

“The recent weather set us back, so we weren’t able to meet the spring break reopening goal,” Baden said. “With a few dry days, the remaining work could wrap up by the end of next week, but the extended forecast isn’t doing us any favors. At this point, we can’t give a firm reopening date.”

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Hug Point is much more complex. Earlier this year, OPRD predicted it could quite possibly be reopened by spring break, but that obviously did not happen.

Baden did not have good news there.

“We’re still working through the same issues there, and unfortunately, a multi-month closure is looking likely,” he said. “We’ll share updates as soon as we have clearer timelines.”

OPRD's message to the public: “Thanks for your patience while we work to reopen these areas safely.”

Heavy rains and king tides took out the only real access there and the park closed in November. Half that stairway is gone. Like Ecola, storms have to subside, but here there are also all kinds of drainage issues that need to be addressed. The access and parking lot had been beset by a variety of improper drainage constructs for a long time and they came to a head with that set of storms

To borrow from Monty Python and John Cleese: “This access is no more. It has ceased to be. It is an ex-beach access.”

The area continues to be the center of various internet rumors where people are telling you it's okay to get down there, but OPRD warned signs are clear about even accessing the parking and there is no substantially safe way to drop from the sheared cliff onto the beach. Beware Internet Rumors: Yes, N. Oregon Coast's Hug Point is Shut Down and Unsafe

You can still hike in from beaches to the south or north, but authorities are on the lookout for anyone trying to park nearby or use the parking lot.

Baden said December's atmospheric rivers tore into the already landslide-prone Ecola State Park, closing off traffic into the area. One larger hurdle was addressed a couple of years ago when some drainage systems were installed beneath one section of road, but it's not clear yet if these sections need that kind of more extensive and detailed work.

“For public safety, the park has been secured by locking the southernmost gate and placing barricades across the roadway at 8th Street,” Baden told Oregon Coast Beach Connection in December.

For the second year in a row, Ecola has been missing from the list of Whale Watch Week viewpoints.

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