Oregon Coast Travel Tips: Varied Beach Near Yachats With Adventure, Romance, Agates

Published 09/05/22 at 6:35 PM
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Yachats, Oregon) – A ways between Florence and Yachats, in a section of central Oregon coast that's so off-the-beaten path that it's almost bewildering, you'll find a tiny spot called Strawberry Hill Wayside. Or maybe you won't find it. The parking lot is absolutely hidden behind this winding, twisting chunk of Highway 101. (Photos Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

The thing about Strawberry Hill Wayside is that it's much bigger than it looks at first glance. Kind of like Dr. Who's TARDIS, it's bigger on the inside than on the outside. If that trippy bit of physics doesn't blow your mind, the sometimes surreal discoveries and the actual science of this place will.

Strawberry Hill Wayside is part cove, part rocky garden, and part sandy and cobblestone-laden. A decent stretch of simple beach allows for the archetypal romantic hand-holding walk at sunset, while the more adventurous can find plenty of craggy, knobby basalt rocks to climb. See Strawberry Hill - Views of the Cove, Rocks, Video.

On the southern edges, it's a long stretch of rather difficult beach with large cobblestones – but it's rich in agates. Colorful cliff walls line that section, and they get even more brilliant in hue with the sundown. But there's not beach here, so be extremely careful: stay off it in all but the lower, calmer tides. See Southern Cliffs of Strawberry Hill

(Nearby See Tokatee Klootchman State Wayside on Central Oregon Coast: Unobtainable Beauty)

The cove is chock full of wacky wonders. The sand quickly gives way to that Oregon coast favorite: lots o' tidepool life. Sea stars cling to these slightly jagged, 30-million-year-old chunks of rock in great abundance. When the sun hits them just right it's magical.

This end and the back of the cove present some head-scratching sights, like the oddball tufted tower-like chunk of soil standing up out of nowhere, and pierced by a log. Holes in the back of the cove sometimes resemble eerie eyes watching you. Strawberry Hill Labyrinth, Oddities

Then there's the remarkable “natural steps” embedded here: a kooky wonder of geology. Were ancient aliens building stuff here? No, nothing that insipid. All this basalt came from underwater volcanoes millions of years ago (like Cape Perpetua, actually), and these step-like features were formed then, then eroded into those shapes later on. Mysterious Rocky Steps Along Oregon Coast Explained by Geology

Strawberry Hill Wayside has a wild origin story, and some pretty striking finds to this day. Yet most of all, it's a peaceful yet dramatic chunk of Oregon coastline hiding in Lane County.

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