Oswald West State Park — Attraction in Seaside

Truly sad they had to close the walk-in camping area. I was on the Transamerica Trail Bicycling Trail (U.S. 101, in this vicinity) and spent a very pleasant night here in 1977. Camped within hearing distance of the ocean, under a huge (Sitka?) Spruce Tree. A little difficult to pitch my tent, because of all the tree roots, but I managed. Only a few other campers in the area; no motorcycles, campervans, cars, loud music, radios, no noise, period. Just me, and a few other hikers and bicyclists. It was wonderful! The only other drawback was, I was unable to gather any driftwood for a fire; went down to the beach just before sunset to gather some, but all the driftwood I saw was the size of telephone poles!, so I went back to my campsite empty-handed, cooked my supper on my campstove, enjoyed the quiet a little, and went to bed. Got up the next morning to a light fog, refreshed, had breakfast, and resumed my journey. Thank you, Oregon!; and I hope you reopen a walk-in campground there again soon, for other like-minded...

This place has some of the most rugged and stunning viewpoints on the Oregon Coast, but it has gotten popular. Over the past six years, the increase in foot traffic is obvious, and you can see it in the trail conditions. The steeper sections have become more packed down (which means less traction, more feet slipping) and wider, making them a little trickier to navigate.

If you’re planning an elopement here with a small group (we're talking no more than half a dozen, to be comfortable with crowding at such exposed viewpoints), make. sure. your. guests. are. mobile. The walk from the viewpoints back to the car is only about 10-15 minutes, but if someone has bad knees or a hip replacement, it could easily take closer to 45 minutes.

That said, it’s still an incredible place for an intimate elopement, especially at sunrise or sunset. The views are worth the effort. Just be mindful of the changing trail conditions and follow...

Simply the prettiest. We spent three years in Oregon, and made it a point to travel to nearly all of the coastal beaches on the northern half. After experiencing all of them, Oswald West is still our very favorite. The walk down to the beach gives you a taste of some of the gorgeous old growth forest, and the beach is very, very accessible for kids and rarely crowded. There are great tide pools at the north and south ends of the cove with an abundance of starfish, rockfish, and hermit crabs, and a few chitons if you are lucky. There is a beautiful waterfall at the north end. The unique thing about Oswald West is that it lies in a cove, which protects it from some of the nasty coastal winds at the other beaches. We have been there on days where we traveled to Seaside and Cannon, and Oswald always felt 10 degrees warmer due to the...