This beautiful park offer beach access and opportunities for tent camping, hiking, picnicking, fishing, swimming, surfing and viewing scenery.

Although the walk is short, there are several different trails to the beach and lead you to the Cape Falcon overlook or to the Pacific Coast Trail. The park includes a 13-mile stretch of the Oregon Coast Trail. Be sure to pick up a map on the way into the park. All of the trails to the beach are through a mature forest; one trail follows the winding path of the Short Sands creek. This trail gives way to the spectacular view of the ocean and the creek meeting. This is your first glimpse of the ocean and Short Sands beach.

The beach is nestled in a cove that provides you with a feeling of total privacy. Popular with windsurfers and boogie boarders, the beach is always alive with activity. Surrounded by the mountains, the beach at Oswald West gives you a sense of being transported away from the trials of everyday life. Lose yourself; find Oswald West State Park.

Vital stats: Open March – November. The walk-in campground offers 29 walk-in tent sites (wheelbarrows provided). The campsites are first-come, first-served.

: The Oregon coast receives abundant rainfall, mostly between October and April. July and August bring the best chance for clear days. Summer temperatures are normally moderate and almost never hot. Winter temperatures are normally cool at the lower elevations and cold at the higher elevations. Although snow is possible in the lowest elevations, it is infrequent and does not stay on the ground for long.

Location: Oswald West is located on Oregon's North Coast, just off U.S. Highway 101, 10 miles south of Cannon Beach.

Contact Info: Oregon Parks & Recreation Department1115 Commercial Street NESalemOR97301-1002800-551-6949