Like Day and Night on Oregon Coast: Two Different Sides of Depoe Bay, Silver Point

Published 08/14//20 at 5:44 AM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast) – Just about any spot on the Oregon coast has a myriad of faces, even starkly different personalities. It all depends on the day, the season, and certainly weather conditions. But what if you go beyond the day? (Above: Silver Point)

Take two very different and distant spots along the coastline, a good 100-something miles apart: Depoe Bay and the overlook near Cannon Beach known as Silver Point. The two themselves are as different as night and day, with one being a town and the other being a famous viewpoint. Delve further into these contrasts, such as photographing their looks at night and during the day, and you have visual gold.

Ethereal Night Just South of Cannon Beach. The overlook/pull-outs just south of Cannon Beach are one of the more remarkable experiences on the coast, and the de rigueur first-stops for those who have just entered 101 – especially those who have not seen the beach before. Silver Point is the name of the main lookout, which provides eye-popping glimpses of Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock to the north, a nearly endless seascape due west and some interesting wave action, and then hotspots like Hug Point to the south.

But what about these spots at night? Not much to see, correct?

Wrong.

It does depend on the night, actually. But in this case, on this cold late May evening, the stars are out in full force and the occasional shooting star comes streaking through. This sea of stars is met by the actual sea, and if you hold the shutter open long enough (along with a zoom lens) the movement effect of the stars is amplified. It’s a vast ocean of shifting little lights that trick the untrained eye into thinking they’re meteors. In actuality, it’s not even them that’s moving: it’s us on planet Earth. This world rotates and this is what they look like as we shift our view in relation to them.

Meanwhile, vessel sway out on the horizon become streaks all their own.

Here is Silver Point on another night, where the hint of moonlight turns the sky a vague daylight-like blue, and long exposures create a kind of primordial soup out of the sea.

Suggestion for your next trip: hit this much-lauded viewpoint after dark, give your eyes plenty of time to adjust, and watch a whole new magical world erupt in front of you.

Photo at Top: Silver Point Aglow. During the day – or at least the end of the day – Silver Point provides exceptional views southward, now bathed in the refracted sunlight of dusk. Here, you’re looking at Arcadia Beach in the foreground and bits of Hug Point way behind it. Hotels in Cannon Beach - Where to eat - Cannon Beach Maps and Virtual Tours

Depoe Bay After Dark. Wait long enough after sundown, and just as the world seems to turn black, something new happens. Your eyes figure out how to view those waves in the shadows, lights from fishing boats pop out in the distance as do the craggy outlines of rock structures by the seawall. The central Oregon coast town illuminates the waves just right, and you start to notice how the incoming breakers shimmer a bit.

Take a camera to this scene and it picks up shades you can’t see, creating unusual colors that make the sea look like it’s on fire. Strangely, photograph this town on another night and it may look markedly different.

Depoe Bay at Dusk, One August Night. Between the lights on the channel, street lamps, traffic on the bridge, blurry people walking past and the varied colors of the buildings, dusk can make the town look a bit like a bunch of Christmas lights.

Depoe Bay and a Summer Storm? It’s mid summer on the Oregon coast a few years back, and a little chilly and windy, but otherwise glorious sun and blue occupy the skies. What is odd is the proliferation of massive waves, however. It’s more like a spring storm. The end result is the combo of lovely conditions and dramatic ocean create a striking visual dichotomy.

Another instance of curious coastal sights in the world of weather.

At the extreme southern end of the Depoe Bay bridge, there’s a little viewpoint tucked away that allows glimpses of this side of the bay’s jetty and structures. A small tree here helps fill the photo with more visual information about the town. Hotels in Depoe Bay - Where to eat - Depoe Bay Maps and Virtual Tours

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