Yaquina Bay Estuary Trail — Local services in Newport

Yaquina Bay Estuary Trail is a bird watching area in Newport, Oregon 🇺🇸 at the Hatfield Marine Science Center Oregon State University. Trail follows around the southern shoreline of the Yaquina Estuary.

Difficulty: Easy as trail is mostly paved Seasons: Year-round Distance: .9 miles one way

The trail begins at a rock jetty at the far end of the parking lot for the Hatfield Marine Science Center. A paved trail leads off to the right and crosses a footbridge before avoiding a short washed-out area at a cobble beach. The Yaquina Bay estuary is designated as a Deep Draft Development estuary under the Oregon Estuary Classification system and is a characteristic estuary, with freshwater input from the Yaquina River as well as open access to the Pacific Ocean introducing ocean saltwater.

The bluff is forested with spruce and pine, and a large deck provides views of Yaquina Bay and the...

Great short walk through the estuary. Not super easy to find the entrance. It's at the end of a Hatfield center parking lot and there arent any signs marking the entrance that you can see from your car. We saw maybe 40 brown pelicans feeding in front of viewing booth. Lots of other birds feeding there too. On the boardwalk you look into little streams and see little fish and crabs and other small creatures. The end of the boardwalk is the end of the walk. Double back or walk...

From the far corner of the Marine Science Center parking lot, this trail curves around the back side of the estuary. There are nice landscape photo opportunities here, as well as a chance for bird shots. The birds are best just after high tide, when the wet bottom is starting to be exposed again. From the other end of the Marine Science Center parking lot, you may see Oregon State University and/or NOAA oceanography research vessels. They, also, can be interesting...