Ecola State Park Officially Back Open Monday - N. Oregon Coast Landmark At Cannon Beach

Published 04/06/26 at 9:55 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – In late March, Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) hinted at it coming. Today – just a few hours ago on Monday – official word came down that Ecola State Park was open. (Above: Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce just made the official announcement late afternoon Monday: the park that had been shut down since December is officially open.

OPRD has not made the announcement itself, but the local chamber sneaked in the good news about the major Oregon coast landmark.

Really, it initially appeared more in the form of the "closure advisory" disappearing from the OPRD page. Then it was confirmed by the chamber.

Meanwhile, nearby Hug Point is still closed due to major drainage issues that are preventing cliff and stairway repairs.

Ecola State Park was closed in December after landslides hit the roads going into Indian Beach and the main park.

Landslide in 1961

OPRD's Mike 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 a section of road.

In late March, Baden said construction crews were almost sealing the deal when that run of bad weather hit early in 2026. That put them farther behind.

“The recent weather set us back, so we weren’t able to meet the spring break reopening goal,” Baden told Oregon Coast Beach Connection in late March. “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.”

Reopening didn't happen quite when park officials hoped, but it was close, happening today as a surprise.

Hug Point does not yet have a reopening date estimate and that probably won't for some time.

Ecola has quite an illustrious history of landslides, including one monster of an event in the early '60s when parts of it wound up looking more like Mount St. Helens.

That summer, a family was hiking there when suddenly their small daughter disappeared. She had dropped off into the rough terrain. A major search ensued. Intense History at Oregon Coast's Ecola State Park: Murder, Landslide, Explorers .

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