Oswald West State Park is part of the

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

system of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. It is located about south of the city of

Cannon Beach Cannon Beach is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Its population was 1,690 at the 2010 census. It is a popular coastal Oregon tourist destination, famous for Haystack Rock, a sea stack that juts out along the coast. In 2013, ''Na ...

, adjacent to Arch Cape, on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The park covers , with many miles of hiking trails both inside the park grounds and linking to other parks and landmarks beyond. The state park also contains

Neahkahnie Mountain Neahkahnie Mountain is a mountain, or headland, on the Oregon Coast, north of Manzanita, Oregon, Manzanita in Oswald West State Park overlooking U.S. Route 101, that has a pass elevation of approximately , which is the third highest point of the ...

, Short Sand Beach, Short Sand Creek, Necarney Creek, Cape Falcon, Smugglers Cove and the Oregon Coast Trail. The cove is a popular surf destination and is known as "Short Sands".

History

The park was named after

Oswald West Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. Early life West was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada but moved to Salem, Oregon with his family at t ...

, the 14th

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

and the man who led preserving Oregon's beaches for public use. A memorial marker for Matt Kramer, a journalist whose articles helped shift public opinion to preserve the beaches, sits at the trail divide between Short Sands beach and Cape Falcon.

Marine reserve

On January 1, 2016, the

Cape Falcon Marine Reserve Cape Falcon Marine Reserve in Oregon, United States, is a protected area located between Manzanita and the unincorporated community of Falcon Cove Beach in Tillamook and Clatsop Counties on the northern coast of Oregon. It is off the shore of ...

and Marine Protected Area went into effect off the shores of Oswald West State Park. The marine reserve includes the nearshore out to approximately 2 miles out into the ocean. The following activities are unlawful to undertake in the marine reserve: Take of any fish, invertebrate, or wildlife species; Take of kelp or other seaweeds; and Deployment of fishing gear. The

marine protected area A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...

is the two miles out through the state waters line (3 nautical miles out). The restrictions are the same, except people may take salmon by troll and crab.

Camping

Oswald West is currently a day-use area only, though the park historically had 30 walk-in tent sites. The campsite was surrounded by giant old-growth Sitka spruce,

Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the northwest coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern ...

and

western red cedar ''Thuja plicata'' is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Cupressaceae, native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. Its common name is western redcedar in the U.S. or western red cedar in the UK, and it is also called pacific re ...

, as well as smaller brush including

red huckleberry ''Vaccinium parvifolium'', the red huckleberry, is a species of ''Vaccinium'' native to western North America. Description It is a deciduous shrub growing to tall with bright green shoots with an angular cross-section. The leaves are ovate to o ...

salmonberry ''Rubus spectabilis'', the salmonberry, is a species of bramble in the rose family Rosaceae, native to the west coast of North America from west-central Alaska to California, inland as far as Idaho. Like many other species in the genus ''Rubus' ...

and

salal ''Gaultheria shallon'' is an evergreen shrub in the heather family (Ericaceae), native to western North America. Common names include salal (), shallon, or (mainly in Britain) gaultheria. Description ''Gaultheria shallon'' is tall, sprawli ...

bushes. During the Summer of 2008, a large Sitka Spruce fell with no warning in the campground. The state immediately conducted a survey of other trees in the park and determined there were several other trees that could fall at any moment. Subsequently, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department decided to close the campground indefinitely citing public safety. Although camping is currently not permitted, the park is still open with full day-use access.

Gallery

File:Smugglers Cove, Oregon.jpg, Rock formations at Smuggler Cove File:OswaldWestShortSandsOregon.JPG, Beach goers and surfers at Short Sands File:OswaldWestOregon.jpg, The footbridge over Short Sand Creek File:Oswald west state park beach from cape falcon P2467.jpeg, The sand beach at Oswald West State Park's Smuggler Cove; more than 50 surfers are visible (at full image resolution)

References

External links