Striking to Insane Colors Oregon Coast Can Offer Up: Second Summer at Neptune Beach

Published 7/30/24 at 6:35 a.m.
By Andre' GW Hagestedt, Oregon Coast Beach Connection

(Florence, Oregon) – It's a lovely early October day, and the last warm rays of summer are hitting the central Oregon coast with particular fervor. A host of extraordinary things happen because of this – and it occurs most Octobers of any given year in this way. The end of the day at this time of year can really explode into some mind-bending color schemes. Oregon Coast Beach Connection caught just that between Florence and Yachats, but when Second Summer rolls around, just about any beach spot here can provide these sights.

Here's something to really look forward to. They call that time of year Second Summer: the stretch between September and mid October when the Oregon coast is actually at its warmest. This, in turn, also shows off some other incredible aspects of nature.

Check the photo blogs and social media on days like this and you'll witness such sights going viral all over the internet from up and down the region.

Sure, similar colors take place in Cannon Beach, Seaside, Lincoln City and others. However, hit Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint and things may be different.

In fact, lots of things were different. It helps, though, to have camera equipment that can catch moments like these: you need long exposures to see those incredible colors that happen just after sunset.

One photo expedition's results:

Just before the sun had gone down completely, Neptune's bridge and its wobbly cobble stone garden of polished, rounded rocks received a hint of the stunning colors to come.

There's a stream that meanders through Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint and its rocky landscape, slowly nudging out to the sea, until that geography changes to the softer sands of the shorelien. On this day, just after the sun went down, this stream was lit up and fired up into some amazing shades. Oregon Coast Hotels in this area - South Coast Hotels -

Those colors shifted dramatically sometimes, even after the sun had disappeared. At one gob-smacking moment, Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint erupted in a deeper variety of reds, pinks and other similar shades. Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint - Neptune Beach Cobblestone 

The next, it was a landscape of purple – a surreal kind of dreamscape.

Towards the cliffs of Neptune State Scenic Viewpoint, you can see something else remarkable. Besides the ethereal tinting of the scene, you'll notice the tide appears much farther out than usual. Indeed, sand levels get so high here by late September they keep the tide out – giving the beach much more space than normal. Most of the time, the water edges up close to those rock near the cliffs. By October, there's usually about 100 feet more of the beach than before.

This dynamic is true for much of the Oregon coast during the summer and early fall months: from Cannon Beach and Pacific City down to beyond Brookings, the beaches see significant changes.

Also fascinating is the proliferation of heavy blobs of white foam. It's interesting to note this wasn't the case throughout all the beach at this time. Only certain sections had these massive displays of sea fluff. More cool sights here: Cave at Neptune Beach, Geology

It's a sign of a healthy ocean, however. Sea foam is largely the result of a lot of diatoms and other kinds of phytoplankton. It's not made up of them, per se, but rather it's the ocean's movement that squeezes air and water into their microscopic skeletons, blowing bubbles. The more diatoms and their skeletons, the more foam.

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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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