Short Sand Beach, Oswald West State Park

Angela Chen

Beautiful state park! Worth a stop if you are driving along the coast. The hiking trails are well maintained and easy to walk on. Dog friendly, and you are rewarded a gorgeous ocean view at the end of the short sand beach trail. Try to catch this place when the sun is out.

Tena Hampton

The short trail to Short Sand was itself magical. So glad I found this lovely beach that felt hugged by the 2 peninsulas holding it. Highly recommend!

Susan Smith

This is one of my favorite Oregon beaches!! Easy hike through magik old growth forests, waterfall, river, tide pools, cliffs, waves, sand. It's everything you could want from a beach!

David Glabe

Having been to every beach on the Oregon coast between Astoria and Newport, Short Sand remains our family favorite. The trail to the beach travels underneath Hwy 101 and takes you through one of the last remaining stands of old growth forest in this part of the state. There are large sword ferns, towering moss-coated trees, and even a neat little bridge which crosses a stream. The trail is mostly paved but becomes steep and unsuitable for strollers or wagons at the point where it emerges into the actual beach. The beauty of this beach is that it is surrounded by cliffs on all sides which serve to protect it from some of the gale-force winds which frequently occur on the coast. As a result, Short Sand always seems a few degrees warmer than Cannon Beach or Rockaway. The beach also offers decent tide pools to explore at low tide as well as a couple of small beach caves and waterfalls. The wave pattern makes this a prime choice for surfers along the northern coast. The scenery with the surrounding mountains is fantastic. There may be a few more scenic beaches along the northern coast, but none of them are this accessible. Visitors here will not be disappointed.