Oregon tidal pools5/11/2023 ![]() Dogs must be leashed, and collecting any materials is prohibited within 300 yards. To help protect the bird and sea life on and around Haystack Rock, climbing on the rock or entering seabird nesting areas is not allowed. Haystack Rock is a protected area, a National Wildlife Refuge, and one of seven designated Marine Gardens on the Oregon Coast. The program’s knowledgeable interpreters help visitors identify the many creatures that reside there and often have live displays that can be viewed. ![]() The Haystack Rock Awareness Program offers regular interpretive programs at the base of Haystack Rock during low tides throughout the year. Always be aware of your surroundings when visiting the intertidal area, and never turn your back on the ocean. Quietly watching a pool or gently moving seaweed aside will reveal organisms and behavior that would otherwise go unnoticed. Slow down, look closely and watch carefully to observe the sea life in its home. Many tidepools have plenty of viewing opportunities at the sand-rock interface, where standing on rock can be avoided almost entirely. Avoid walking on rocks covered with barnacles for your safety and to avoid damaging the fragile ecosystem. To avoid this, walk only on sand or bare rock and watch your step. When visiting the intertidal area, be aware that the creatures and environment are easily damaged. Check out the optimal time on the current NOAA tide prediction tide charts. Minus tides in Cannon Beach begin in spring, and the lowest minus tides occur in summer. Tides of 0.0 feet and lower (minus tides) are best for tidepool viewing, but when the ocean is calm many intertidal areas can be observed even at plus one or two-foot tides. Haystack Rock offers the most accessible access to the intertidal area and tidepools, but there are also plenty of other nearby areas with great tidepools and fewer crowds. For optimum viewing, it is best to be in the intertidal zone one hour before daily low tides. These are just a few of the coastal marine creatures you may discover in the tidepools of Cannon Beach. There is a tremendous amount of tide pool opportunity for you and your family on the beaches at or near Gold Beach, Oregon. Look carefully, and you may find crabs, fish, snails, limpets, coral, sponge, and colorful sea slugs known as nudibranchs. Green anemones lay open like flowers at the bottom of pools. Bright sea stars in a variety of colors cling tightly to rocks. As the tide recedes, intertidal areas and tidepools reveal a unique and diverse environment. Many colorful and strange creatures live where Cannon Beach’s rocky shorelines and beaches meet the sea.
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