Friday I spent some time at various parts of this area just south of Yachats, Oregon. One of the most popular spots seemed to be Cooks Chasm, a long area with rough rocks and narrow inlets. This is a VERY popular place at high tide as the water crashing against the rocks puts on quite a show.
One of the spots near the bridge which carries Highway 101 over the deep inlet (seen below) has a naturally developed hole which, under the right conditions, shoots a geyser of water high in the air at high tide.
Another area just north from Cooks Chasm is called Devil’s Churn, and it also puts on a show at high tide. Look closely at the bottom of the photo and you’ll see some people.
I just enjoyed the incredible beauty of this area because I was there at low tide (of course). While it turns out to be just down the road from where I am staying in Yachats, the small parking areas were already full at low tide and I imagine it gets incredibly crowded at high tide so I never came back. I’m sure there are videos on YouTube.
After looking at things from highway-level I took a two-mile road up a mountain to around 850 feet above sea level which gave me a very different view:
When I first got there I was a little nervous about the view:
But all I had to do was take a dirt path a short ways out towards the ocean. Friday was the exact opposite of coastal weather I have experienced during this trip. Today there was a heavy cloud deck inland but the coast was clear. (Hmmm… “the coast was clear”… that seems to be a neat phrase – maybe I’ll trademark it).
Much better.
I soon came to a little rock cabin, which had an amazing view of the ocean:
Before I went back down to the highway I took one last look south:
And north, towards Yachats:
And when I got back down to the highway I stopped at the Visitor Center and had this view of the ocean from their deck:
