Oswald West State Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oswald West State Park
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Type	Public, state
Location	Tillamook County, Oregon
Nearest city	Manzanita
Area	2,448 acres (9.91 km2)
Operated by	Oregon Parks and Recreation Department

Oswald West State Park is a beautiful park in Oregon, United States. It's located right next to the Pacific Ocean, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Cannon Beach. This park is huge, covering about 2,448 acres (991 hectares)! It has many miles of trails perfect for hiking and exploring.

Inside the park, you'll find cool spots like Neahkahnie Mountain, Short Sand Beach (also called "Short Sands"), and Cape Falcon. Short Sands is a super popular place for surfing! There's even an old story that pirate treasure is buried near Smugglers Cove, but no one has found it yet.

Park History and Naming

The park is named after Oswald West, who was the 14th Governor of Oregon. He was very important because he helped make sure that Oregon's beautiful beaches would always be open for everyone to enjoy. There's a special marker in the park for Matt Kramer. He was a journalist whose articles helped convince people that the beaches should be protected for public use.

Protecting Ocean Life

Cape Falcon Marine Reserve

Since January 1, 2016, a special area called the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve helps protect ocean life near the park. This reserve stretches about 2 miles (3.2 km) out into the ocean from the shore. In this area, it's against the rules to catch any fish, crabs, or other sea creatures. You also can't collect kelp or other seaweeds. This helps ocean animals and plants stay safe and healthy.

There's also a "marine protected area" that goes out even further, about 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) from shore. In this larger area, most of the same rules apply. However, people are allowed to catch salmon using a special fishing method called "troll fishing" and also catch crabs.

Camping at the Park

Oswald West State Park is currently a day-use park. This means you can visit during the day, but you can't stay overnight in tents or RVs. In the past, the park used to have 30 walk-in tent campsites. These campsites were surrounded by giant trees like Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, Western hemlock, and western red cedar. There were also smaller plants like Red huckleberry, Salmonberry, and salal bushes.

In 2008, a very large Sitka spruce tree suddenly fell in the campground. After this happened, park officials checked other trees and found that some were also at risk of falling. Because of this, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department decided to close the campground for safety reasons. Even though camping isn't allowed anymore, the park is still open for everyone to enjoy during the day!

Images for kids

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  Rock formations at Smuggler Cove

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  Beach goers and surfers at Short Sands

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  The footbridge over Short Sand Creek

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  The sand beach at Oswald West State Park's Smuggler Cove; more than 50 surfers are visible (at full image resolution)