Oswald West State Park
Subnational Park · Arch Cape, Oregon
Nearly 2,500 acres of coastal rainforest and headland ten miles south of Cannon Beach, holding Short Sand Beach - a sheltered cove reached only on foot through old-growth spruce - along with Cape Falcon and the 1,680 ft Neahkahnie Mountain. It is named for the governor who in 1913 had Oregon's entire shoreline declared a public highway, which is why every beach in the state is public to this day. The park is the practical monument to that law: there is no road to its beach, and there never will be.
Oregon Coast Highway, Arch Cape, Oregon, 97102, United States
Open daily, dawn to dusk, year round, with an Oregon State Parks day-use parking fee or annual pass. There is no camping in the park; the former walk-in campground is closed. ⚠ THERE IS NO ROAD ACCESS TO SHORT SAND BEACH - it is a half-mile walk from the US-101 car parks, which are small and fill by mid-morning on summer weekends. Parking on the highway shoulder is dangerous and enforced. The cove is sheltered enough that this park stays worthwhile in weather that closes the rest of the coast.
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