Historic Details Pepper Hug Point's Road, to Millions of Years of Oregon Coast's Past

Published 12/24/24 at 11:25 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – That popular state park on Oregon's north coast has multiple layers. It has its secrets left over from quite a past. (All photos Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

The historic details along and around the old road at Hug Point near Cannon Beach are numerous, often hiding in plain sight.

Look on the road and you'll see the old ruts dug into the rock by hundreds and hundreds of horse 'n buggies or Model T-era rigs passing over it. It was still used as part of the Oregon Coast Highway until at least the '20s when finally some semblance of 101 was built up above.

Then take a peek in the rockface itself: you may find something millions of years old. You can see more about this at the link. Fossils are found in the rocks sometimes, like much of the Oregon coast. In this case, it's not an animal, however. More Lurks Beneath N. Oregon Coast's Hug Point and Around It Than You Know

Also a curiosity: check out the holes dug into the rock itself. If they look a little like a kind of ladder – that's because they were. More Lurks Beneath N. Oregon Coast's Hug Point and Around It Than You Know

Around the north side of the road, where the water is deeper, sunnier days reveal mysterious looking rocky slabs lying in the water, somehow reminiscent of ancient Greek ruins. They can be quite colorful, adding to the ancient ruins vibe. Really, it's just the color of the water and the algae or tidepool life on the rock that dictates how you see that.

A few hundred feet south of the road, a giant mushroom-shaped boulder pokes out from the sand, covered with barnacles and with a small cluster of tide pools at its base. Sometimes it shows; sometimes it's hidden beneath the sands, like this shot below in purples. Mushroom-like Blob, Storm Video

Around the next two points (to the south) you'll find giant crevices in the cliff face and those telltale green lines of algae running around the rocks - signs that's where the tide usually exists.

Pictured here is the metallic knob embedded in the rock, as described in the previous tour spot.

Below: The handholds in the triangular rock at the beginning of the road; the mushroom-shaped rock; the algae-colored cliff rocks.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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