Lincoln Beach's Beach Access #51C: What This Oregon Coast Spot Is - and Isn't

Published 10/07/25 at 4:05 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Lincoln Beach, Oregon) – A small, slightly winding and even ornate path, a dense canopy of woodsy atmosphere above, and maybe a touch of a magical feel: through that and you're on a lovely stretch of beach that not many can get to. This little slice of central Oregon coast goes by the rather generic name of Lincoln Beach Access #51C, and it's somewhere in the middle of a few miles of rarely touched sands. (All photos Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Don't mix Lincoln Beach up with Lincoln City: this is the tiny, unincorporated community of Lincoln Beach, immediately south of Gleneden Beach and a few miles south of the more famed town. It's like sleepy Gleneden Beach's even sleepier neighbor (just a couple of miles north of Depoe Bay).

The trick to access #51C is that it's behind the semi-exclusive Bella Beach community of residents and vacation rentals, found off Bella Beach Circle. The beach access is technically public, but usually just open to those staying or living there because public parking is at a minimum.

Access #51C was built about the time the Bella Beach vacation rental company founded the little community, building a host of homes about 2000 or so. The company itself changed hands and names a few times over the decades, and much of the time it's one larger organization and maybe a few indie owners that provide the vacation rental homes themselves.

The #51C access (given that moniker by the emergency numbered sign in yellow) begins by that little paved pathway downward. Then you come to the beach opening itself, standing on a wooden platform and stairway with a wee bench, all of which gaze out on the sloped expanse of Lincoln Beach. Down the stairway a couple dozen feet and you hit the sands, which provide only a small bit of shoreline between the tides and the cliff face.

That should serve as a warning: during stormier moments or high tide events stay off the beach. Indeed all of Gleneden Beach and Lincoln Beach are this way. There were a pair of women that died one winter just north of here, getting swept up by an unruly tide.

Lincoln Beach's #51C access is bordered by the soft sandstone cliffs typical of this entire stretch from Gleneden Beach down through Fogarty Creek. It's prone to erosion, and near here there are spots getting buffeted by more rip rap and other work, even though the crumbling cliff has taken out some homes there. It's also put some other homes in the area in jeopardy.

The photo of the Bella Beach area here is a rather older one, and shows the rip rap at a lower level than it is now. [Find Vacation Rentals for This Area: Keystone Vacation Rentals ]

The essential truth about the access is that it isn't entirely convenient for the average beachgoer. Nearby beach accesses show off more of Lincoln Beach – still a fairly unpopulated chunk of Oregon coast.

Wallace Street access

Just north of here is the Wallace St. access, which provides some interesting cliff and tree sights. Plus, parking is much easier. This one is actually not bad for watching winter waves from the elevated parking area – safe from the tidal melee.

A bit south of Bella Beach, head down Division and you'll bump into the access and grassy slopes at Rush Place. Just a tad south of that is the Willow St. access – the final one at Lincoln Beach. This one actually brings you to the bottom of ever-engaging Fishing Rock, the minor headland jutting out from here.

All of this is not far south of Gleneden Beach State Recreation Site and a handful of secretive beach accesses on either side.

Why is this one called access #51C? Because these beach access emergency yellow signs are so designated, there to assist responders in case of an emergency. #51 is at Laurel St. just north of the state park, the park itself is access #51A, and #51B appears to be at the Wallace St. access – although the presence of a sign has not been confirmed as yet by Oregon Coast Beach Connection.

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