Ecola State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ecola State Park |
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Southern view of the coast from Ecola State Park
with Haystack Rock in the distance. |
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 Ecola State Park
Location in Oregon
Ecola State Park
Location in the United States
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| Location | Clatsop County, Oregon, United States |
| Nearest city | Cannon Beach |
| Operator | Oregon Parks and Recreation Department |
| Website | Ecola State Park |
Ecola State Park is a beautiful state park located in Oregon, about 3 miles north of Cannon Beach. It's managed by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
This park covers about 9 miles (14 km) of amazing coastline between Cannon Beach and Seaside. It also includes a famous spot called Tillamook Head. Back in 1806, William Clark and other explorers from the Corps of Discovery visited this area. They were looking for a beached whale and saw burial canoes of the Tillamook people. Ecola State Park is even part of the larger Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, though you pay a separate fee to enter.
Scientists have found very old sites within the park, some dating back to around 1100 CE. These sites have taught us a lot about the ancient Tillamook people who lived here. The park also has 8 miles (13 km) of the Oregon Coast Trail, which is great for hiking. You might even recognize some parts of the park from famous movies!
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Discovering Ancient History at Ecola Park
Scientists have found several important archaeological sites inside Ecola State Park. These sites were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 because they hold valuable clues about the past.
Clues from the Past
At places like the Bald Point Site, archaeologists found ancient shell middens. A shell midden is like an old garbage dump, made up of shells, bones, and other things people threw away long ago. These middens can tell us what people ate and how they lived. Scientists also found what might be house pits, which are the remains of old homes. These discoveries date back to around 1550 CE and are linked to the Tillamook people.
Studying these sites helps us understand how the environment changed along the Oregon Coast over time. It also shows us how ancient people lived, what their daily lives were like, and how their culture developed before Europeans arrived. Even though some parts of these sites have been lost to ocean erosion, much of them are still safe for study.
The Ecola Point Village Site
Another important spot is the Ecola Point Site. Here, researchers found several ground depressions that look like house pits. This suggests there was once a semi-permanent village here. Two large shell middens were also found, filled with well-preserved animal remains and other artifacts.
Radiocarbon dating (a way to find out how old something is) shows that people lived at this site from about 1100 CE to 1700 CE. This long period of time helps scientists learn about how life changed for the Tillamook people, both before and after they met European Americans. These sites are like giant puzzle pieces that help us put together the story of the Oregon Coast's earliest residents.
Movies Filmed Here
Ecola State Park is so beautiful that it has been a filming location for several popular movies!
- A lot of the 1985 adventure film The Goonies was filmed within the park.
- The school picnic scene in Kindergarten Cop also took place here.
- Indian Beach, a spot within the park, was used for the final scenes of Point Break.
- Several scenes from the 2008 movie Twilight were also filmed at Indian Beach.
