Mile 208 Report
Ona Beach, south of Beaver Creek
August 31, 2025
Another exciting day getting to know our mile. We are continually fascinated by the amount of anemones, barnacles, and other sea life concentrated around the largest of the rock formations. As we explore, we are trying to identify which spots we want to regularly photograph and are giving them names to help us remember!
Report Details
Another exciting day getting to know our mile. The most difficult part of filling out this report was choosing one weather description! Over the course of 1.5 hours, we went from almost total fog cover to partly cloudy to mostly sunny. We were surprised to see how much the sand had accumulated by Ona Beach's distinctive rocky concretions, which were much more exposed when we visited two months prior. The tide seemed much lower than when we last visited (though interestingly, the NOAA tide charts didn't back that observation up) and we got to explore a sand bar that formed between the ocean and the section of rock concretions. We are continually fascinated by the amount of anemones, barnacles, and other sea life concentrated around the largest of the rock formations. We discovered 6 dead birds, which we think were all gulls, in various stages of decomposition. We are continuing to familiarize ourselves with the bluffs to track erosion over time. We included a photo of what we think is the same spot identified by the previous CoastWatcher where a house used to stand but was removed. We noticed fresh carvings in the bluff face at the southmost end of the mile, which appears to be a recurring graffiti spot. As we explore, we are trying to identify which spots we want to regularly photograph and are giving them names to help us remember! Including those in the photo captions.
Conditions
Temperature: 58 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 4.7 feet.
Activities
Number of people: 47. Number of dogs: 15. Walking or running: 44. Sitting: 3. Kayaking: 1. Fishing: 3.
Other Activities: Collecting rocks/trash, walking dogs, playing fetch, photography, hiking, picnicking, building log structure.
Concerns
Apparent violations: -Fresh and very deep carvings in the rocky bluff face at the south end of the mile
-Three sets of tire tracks (may have been from same vehicle) - looked like ATV size
-A couple of burnt out logs showing evidence of fires lit on beach.
Notable Wildlife
Birds: approx. 20 gulls, 2 crows, 1 duck, 1 turkey vulture, 2 pelicans Invertebrates: a couple of small jellies, hundreds of anemones clustered on the rock concretions
Beached Birds
Total dead birds: 6. We think all 6 were gulls - in various stages of decomp
Dead Fish or Invertebrates
7 whole crab shells, many scattered crab legs near the wrackline
Wrackline Content
There were lots of clusters of dry white strands at the north end of the mile. At first we thought this was garbage, but it did look natural upon observing closer. We think just dried, bleached seaweed?
Natural Changes
Major sand accumulation near the rocky concretions near north end of the mile. When we were here two months ago, these were substantially more exposed and prominent. We're still establishing a baseline to understand whether this is a more gradual seasonal change or whether this is a more frequent change depending on tide levels.
View to the south - hazy conditions upon arrival (pictured: Becca Wirta)
Bleached dried seaweed clusters?
"Broccoli Bluff" at north end of mile entrance curve
"Help Me Tree" slipping down north end bluff
"Vacancy" bluff mid-north section where house used to be (?)
Midmile bluff lower section close-up erosion
"Graffiti Cove" close up of fresh carvings south end bluff
Dead bird (largest/freshest of the six discovered)
"The Chasm" (so named because it was filled with water last time!) view to north with sand accumulation
Concretion covered in anemones closeup
"Mini Thor's Well" facing north (pictured: Emily Eisele, Becca Wirta, Joellen Sweeney)
Jelly
Report Images
Bedrock Theatre
CoastWatcher
All Mile 208 Reports
Mile 208
Ona Beach, south of Beaver Creek
It was an unseasonably sunny and warm winter's visit - the first time we've had clear skies for the duration of our mile walk.
Bedrock Theatre
Mile 208
Ona Beach, south of Beaver Creek
Another exciting day getting to know our mile. We are continually fascinated by the amount of anemones, barnacles, and other sea life concentrated around the largest of the rock formations. As we explore, we are trying to identify which spots we want to regularly photograph and are giving them names to help us remember!
Bedrock Theatre
Mile 208
Ona Beach, south of Beaver Creek
This is Bedrock Theatre's first mile report as official CoastWatchers! It was a beautiful day with patches of blue sky peeking out between clouds. We're excited to continue getting to know this mile more intimately over the coming months and hopefully years!
Bedrock Theatre
Mile 208
Ona Beach, south of Beaver Creek
(This is part two of my report as I divided up the mile into two trips.
Batthecat
Mile 208
Ona Beach, south of Beaver Creek
The cliff erosion is significant.
Batthecat
Mile 208
Ona Beach, south of Beaver Creek
Photos show how high the surf got.
Batthecat
Mile 208
Ona Beach, south of Beaver Creek
Not much happening on this beach except human invasive use (driving on beach)
Batthecat