Mile 288 - Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point - July 23, 2011

Report Details

This was a beautiful, sunny, and very windy walk along the beach, out and back. There were many people camping (saw at least 14 tents) along the way on mile 287, but only saw 1 person and tent on mile 288. As noted, there were 46 vehicles in parking lot around 4:30 pm and still 36 vehicles near 9 pm. With Tillamook County allowing camping on Bayocean Spit, the activity is greatly increased although not specifically on mile 288.The shoreline seemed unchanged but there appeared to be some sand build-up on the beach. Driftline was relatively clean with light, evenly placed piles of seaweed and small stones. Most notable wildlife were the birds: Western, Western-Glaucous-winged hybrid (so-called Olympic) Gulls, Heerman's Gull, California Gulls, Semi-palmated Plovers, and 1 Western Sandpiper.The beach was cleaner looking than previous visits, perhaps because sand was covering debris. Saw little evidence of plastic, styrofoam, or other kinds of human debris. Overall, a very brisk (into the wind) but satisfying walk.

Conditions

Temperature: 66 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Strong. Wind Direction: N. Tide Level: 7.2 feet.

Activities

Number of people: 1.

Other Activities: Setting up a tent and campsite. 45 vehicles plus 1 horse van in the parking lot is a record number for me. What was even more surprising is that around 9 pm, there were still 36 vehicles in the lot, most of them belonging to campers. This is a clear indication that Tillamook County's decision a few years ago to allow camping on Bayocean Spit is having an effect. I hope the county is carefully monitoring human activity as the number of visitors is greatly increasing..

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 45. RVs/Buses parking: 1.

Notable Wildlife

Birds of note included 10 Semi-palmated Plovers, 1 Western Sandpiper, approx. 25 Western or Western-Glaucous-winged hybrids, with about half juveniles, 3 California Gulls (1 juvenile), and 1 Heerman's Gull.

Wrackline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Small rocks.

Report Images

YaakovM

CoastWatcher

All Mile 288 Reports

Date

Showing 8 of 60 reports

Mile 288

Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point

January 14, 2026

A sperm whale, approximately 15 feet in length, washed up on Bay Ocean Spit in early January and was first spotted by ORPD Ranger Simon Freeman.

Denise Harrington

Mile 288

Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point

April 23, 2025

There was no human activity observed along Mile 288 during my visit. Due to our March 9th cleanup efforts along Mile 288, there was very little debris visible (although I did not enter the nesting area to survey the wrack line. I found one unidentified dead bird during my visit.

Karen Schank

Mile 288

Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point

November 10, 2024

Mile 288 showed no signs of man-made disturbance, and no one was on-site during my monitoring. I was glad to see a flock of plovers flying in the foredune again!

KMS

Mile 288

Bayocean Peninsula, Kincheloe Point

March 14, 2024

It was an incredibly busy day for Mile 288 the day before the snowy plover nesting season began! I was glad to see DOGAMI and OPRD on-site, and appreciated OPRD's willingness to haul the debris I collected back to their dumpsters. It was also exciting to see so many plovers in the wet sand.

Karen Schank