Mile 179 - Heceta Head Lighthouse, Devils Elbow SP, Cape Creek - November 29, 2022

Report Details

It was a cold, windy, day with chance of rain at any moment. Not many people ventured out to watch the ocean or walk up the trail past the Heceta Assistant Keepers dueplex (now a B&B and interpretive center), past the gift shop, and up to the lighthouse. Beach still covered with sand and not much debris on the wrack line. Two people fishing in the surf. One dead gull.

Conditions

Temperature: 48 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Moderate. Wind Direction: S. Tide Level: 6.0 feet.

Activities

Number of people: 2. Walking or running: 5. Fishing: 2.

Other Activities: During the summer sand is deposited on the beach by the gentle waves. The winter waves will pull so much of the sand back out and expose the rounded river rock. 8 cars were parked in the parking lot. People walked up the trail, total of 20 people stopped by the gift shop next to the Heceta Keepers House as they continued walking up to the lighthouse. One dead seagull up high in the driftwood. Two people braved the wind and chance of rain to fish in the surf....see photo.

Beached Birds

Total dead birds: 1. Seagull of some type

Wrackline Content

Wood pieces.

Report Images

Beach and parking lot at Heceta Head State Scenic Viewpoint

Cape Creek Bridge and creek that drains into the ocean.

Only 2 people on the beach and they were surf fishing. Not a perfect weather day to walk on the beach. Cold, windy, and chance of rain at any moment.

Report Images

ThomasK

CoastWatcher

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Mile 179

Heceta Head Lighthouse, Devils Elbow SP, Cape Creek

May 21, 2025

We conducted a MDMAP with 10 people and four transects. Exploring the beach we discovered several caves, one of which was quite deep. It was low tide, and we were able to make observations at several tide pools. On the beach we found a skate case, velella velella, and a large dead bird, possibly a cormorant. On the north side of the beach, we discovered an area between the rocks where the waves created a latte of sea foam and occasionally splashed high above as the water churned in the channel. Numerous people and dogs were present during our four-hour visit, and someone observed that most of the license plates in the parking lot were from out of state. Over four hours we counted four dogs and 39 people.

Jess Lambright