Report Details

Strawberry Hill is a popular destination for beachcombing and tidepooling.  Quite a few people were there during this visit, all well-behaved and maintaining the cleanliness of this beautiful location.  Erosion of the bluffs over the north and south beaches continues.  Many hundreds of sea stars were visible at low-tide areas on the north and south beaches, with no sign of wasting disease.  And hundreds of small white pyrosomes were stranded on the sand and in tidepools along the south beach.  

Conditions

Temperature: 62 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: N. Tide Level: -0.3 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 30. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 20. Photography: 1. Tidepooling: 10. The parking area and the beaches north and south of it are very clean.

Concerns

Apparent violations: None..

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 13. RVs/Buses parking: 1.

Notable Wildlife

Pyrosomes and seastars, as detailed below. About 15 harbor seals were dozing on the rocky islands directly west of the parking area.

Dead Fish or Invertebrates

Several hundred pyrosomes were washed up on the beach or stranded in tidepools along the lower part of the beach south of the parking area. They were translucent white, about finger length. The birds were not eating them -- all the ones I saw were fully intact, and many seemed to be alive. See attached photos. There were also many hundreds of sea stars clinging to rocks exposed only at very low tide, especially at the far northern end of the north beach but also along the south beach. Most were purple, but a few were orange. They seemed quite healthy, with no sign of wasting disease. See attached photos.

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Shells, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Wood pieces. The pigeon guillemots nesting in the bluffs above the south beach in March are gone. I did not see any of the orange sea cucumbers that have recently washed ashore in the Yachats area.

Natural Changes

Landslides/major boulder falls, Major cracks appearing in bluffs.

Actions & Comments

Erosion of the bluffs above the north and south beaches continues.  There is a fairly recent landslide on the bluff about 30 yards north of the parking area.  See attached photo.  A large, stream-fed gully cuts through the bluff about 100 yards north of the parking area up close to highway 101, which is visible from the beach.  See attached photo.  It is not clear from the beach whether this gully threatens to undermine the highway.

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All Mile 188 Reports

Showing 8 of 53 reports

Mile 188

March 15, 2024

It was a beautiful day at Strawberry Hill, with many visitors -- and the resident harbor seals -- enjoying the balmy weather.

Mark Gasiorowski

Mile 188

January 5, 2024

The high surf (even at low tide) made for dramatic conditions during this visit.

Mark Gasiorowski

Mile 188

October 2, 2023

Mile 188 has no notable changes since my last visit two months ago.

GasiorowskiM

Mile 188

July 21, 2023

It was another beautiful day at Mile 188.

GasiorowskiM

Mile 188

April 14, 2023

It was a beautiful day at Mile 188, with the resident harbor seals dozing on the rocks just offshore and many gulls flying around.

GasiorowskiM

Mile 188

January 16, 2023

There were two mudslides on the north beach, 20-40 yards north of the parking area, that appeared to be recent.

GasiorowskiM

Mile 188

October 17, 2022

It was a beautiful day at Strawberry Hill.

GasiorowskiM

Mile 188

July 18, 2022

Strawberry Hill is a popular destination for beachcombing and tidepooling.

GasiorowskiM