Report Details

Pleasant day at the beach at a low low tide (not a minus tide though. Was on the beach from about 3:40pm to 4:30pm. Number of people seen varied from 25-30 when I first started walking on the beach to 6-7 when I left the beach, it's too bad the mile report format doesn't allow for changes in the number of people noted during a one hour period on the beach. Saw very little to no litter, very few birds (only a few seagulls). Signs of erosion along various parts of the beach bluff as I walked south towards Beverly Beach, particularly, as noted, in/on/around a culvert underneath the highway about 1/3 mile from Beverly Beach. Lots of garnet sands, or heavy minerals & aluminsilicates (like garnet), amphiboles, etc., I've read there's chromite, platinum & gold particles in these sands. I see these sands mostly in the winter/spring because they're heavier then the lighter-colored sand particles & remain behind when rain/high tides transport the lighter sand sized particles.

Conditions

Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Tide Level: 0.0 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 30. Number of dogs: 7. Walking or running: 23. Sitting: 4. Surfing: 2. Dogs mostly under control. Partly sunny day on the beach during a low low tide.

Concerns

Climbing bluffs/seastacks

Apparent violations: Climbing down a part of the bluff that's already being eroded by water from a drainage pipe going under 101. Not an "official" beach access point, the 4 people I saw descending to the beach must've parked along 101..

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 15.

Notable Wildlife

None.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 1. Did not see leg band, saw only parts of a bird, looked like it had been torn part by something. Dog, coyote? Not the right time of year for vultures. Saw what was left of the bird in all the drift logs, cobbles, etc., near a culvert that's almost been blocked by some slides, w/trees growing on top of one of the soil masses.

Driftline Content

Small rocks, Wood pieces. Alot of plastic pieces of a variety of colors. NOT plastic pellets, most of them looked like pieces of plastic that had once been part of something larger, some w/sharp points & edges. There were multiple drift lines along one part of the beach and every single one seemed to have more plastic bits/pieces (up to approx 1/5" long) then anything else except for small wood pieces.

New Development

It's been a year or more since I've walked this mile. It looked to me as if more residential structures had been built on the treed bluffs/area above the beach. There were already some structures, there are just more of them.

Natural Changes

Landslides/major boulder falls, Newly exposed roots/trees falling, Visible retreat of solid bluff. See previous mention of slides almost blocking a culvert. There was still alot of water coming through the culvert but if the slides continue, the flow of water might eventually be blocked. I tracked the deterioration fo the culvert from when the first concrete slab of one of the walls fell over, flat. Today I tried to get closer to the opening to get a better view, but was unable to see what had been a large square entry into the culvert. Blocked or screen by the slides that have occurred since I last walked the mile, a relatively rapid change (took place over a year or so). For the last two years I walked mile 224 regularly, either state parks or ODOT was bulldozing the drift logs, cobbles, etc., piled near the culvert & its drainage flow area to the ocean. Looks like that didn't happen last year, hasn't happened yet this year, assuming it's still being done at all. Again observed that most of the drift logs seem to be transported further north then where I saw them maybe 7 to 10 years ago. There is a path up from the beach maybe 1/2 mile from the 90 step stairway access at the north end of my mile. At times I had to clamber over drift logs to get to it, today, as on other days, I walked by a few that were deposited there. The path itself is deteriorating, possibly mostly because of normal weathering (rain, human use) but some of the deterioration at the base may be because there are fewer drift logs to protect the lowest steps from the force of the waves of all but the highest tides + storm surges.

Actions & Comments

I've tried to contact ODOT in the past regarding the condition of the culvert & the erosion caused by the drainage pipe (which is eroding a bluff that ultimately helps form the roadbed support for 101) with zero success. I'm unable to provide an exact GPS location and apparently the approximate distance (from Johnson Creek/Beverly Beach) apparently hasn't been good enough. Clearly ODOT or state parks (whoever was bulldozing all the material left each winter near the culvert's ocean/west side opening) knows where the culvert is located. Whoever ran the bulldozer was perfectly situated to report on the condition of the culvert as it runs underneath 101. The steps of the path I took were built by residents of Otter Rock, it's not an "official" state parks path, so no reason to report it to anyone. People who built & maintained it may have moved away, died, or are no longer able to maintain it.

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All Mile 224 Reports

Showing 8 of 52 reports

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Mile 224

March 16, 2024

Low tide at Yaquina Bay was listed as 12:16 pm today, the north jetty & a headland, and probably about 8-10 miles separate YB from the beach at Otter Rock where my mile is located, I don't know how much those factors change (or not) the exact tide level when I stepped onto the beach this morning OR when I left, about noon. Overall a beautiful day on the beach, on my arrival there were probably 23 people (including surfers) on the beach, that number increased to the number I entered.

S hogg

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Mile 224

July 22, 2023

Lovely day on the beach.

malachite

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Mile 224

July 22, 2023

Very low tide this am, I have no idea what the exact tide level was so I didn't enter a number.

malachite

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Mile 224

April 3, 2023

Pleasant if chilly walk on the beach.

malachite

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Mile 224

March 11, 2023

Quite a dynamic winter on this mile, more erosion noted, and a moderate sized slide seen on the mile.

malachite

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Mile 224

October 6, 2022

Nice day for a walk on the beach, clean beach, saw 6 cyclists (one solo, I think the rest were more or less together), first time I've seen cyclists on this beach, have seen them off & on from the south jetty north to Lucky Gap access.

malachite

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Mile 224

September 11, 2021

Pretty day on the beach,  I was on the beach when the tide was going out, my South Beach tide table indicates the low tide in SB was at 9:43 am & 1.

malachite

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Mile 224

February 7, 2021

Pleasant day at the beach at a low low tide (not a minus tide though.

malachite