TILLAMOOK, Ore. — Oregon’s winter season offers a roller coaster ride of weather conditions! From gray shaded days of wind and rain that are often followed by breaks of soothing warmth and sunshine. There’s never a dull moment at this time of year!
Winter can be a fine time to enjoy Oregon’s coast as the surf floods and ebbs and beachcombers wander seeking secrets from the tides.
Along the beach near Cape Meares, Don Best uses his camera to find the secrets that many of the beach strollers miss.
The longtime local has a passion for pulling out the best in a winter scene and his Best Impressions prove it.
“Sometimes it takes quite a few pictures to get the right one,” said Best. “There’s a lot of dynamic action; wave movement, breakers hitting the rocks or logs. Shooting the wind and the waves with a camera is exciting.”
That much is true on a day when sparkling sunshine clears away the gloomy gray when a powerful east wind stirs up a show on the ocean.
Best said those are the days to watch for Spindrift of King Neptune's Horses.
“The wind blows the tops of the breakers back out to sea,” said Best. “It is stunning, and the spray is like a white sheet that even has rainbows if you get the right angle.”
His photo collection of stormy coastal moments provides a unique angle to Oregon coastal life that many people never get a chance to see.
Many shots from Best’s collection of coastal photographs date back nearly a century and show that winter storms weren’t always so nice. In fact, they were terrible.
Like the winter of 1915, shortly after the Tillamook North Jetty was built and the Barview community was flooded by giant ocean waves.
Best’s album shows off images of railroad wreckage and homes that were lost as people watched helplessly when sweeping waves wiped out the town during a disastrous storm.
What were folks thinking about at the time?
“An escape route, where to run!” noted Best with a chuckle. “That’s what I would do too.”
Robert Smith, Oregon State Park's Beach Safety Manager, said that when you head to the beach in winter it’s critical to stay alert because huge logs are often washed ashore. He said that just five inches of water can move a five-ton log.
“It’s such a big powerful ocean and we enjoy looking at that power, but people have to recognize that power can also prove dangerous and turn a log into a weapon.”
Smith added that rocky jetties might seem inviting because they offer a front row seat to the ocean’s action, but people should stay in their cars to enjoy the show and not walk out on the jetty rocks.
“The jetties are designed to protect the channels for safe shipping traffic and not designed for pedestrian use. The rocks – as large as they are – shift and can have caverns and sinkholes that you never see. Plus, you’ve got poor footing because it’s slippery. It’s just a recipe for disaster.”
Smith added that even the popular coastal hiking trails require caution.
“The amount of water and rain that we get here – coupled with the amount of sea spray – adds up to increased erosion on our trails,” Smith said.
But there’s no shortage of Oregon State Park Beach Waysides to enjoy winter storms, and Smith noted that some of his state park favorites include overlooks like Cape Meares or Heceta Head State Parks because both are fine vantage points that have lighthouses too.
“These sites are a little higher up, a little further away and definitely safer,” noted Smith. “You get a bird’s eye view of the power of the ocean. Perhaps the premier location for storm watching along the entire coast is Shore Acres State Park. It’s simply amazing when the surf crashes along that shoreline.”
There are many amazing places to watch nature play out along the northern Oregon coastline too.
David Posalski likes to share his coastal knowledge with newcomers along many of his favorite north coast stops.
The lifelong local said that his personal tours stop at include many north coast sites, but the Columbia River South Jetty viewing tower at Fort Stevens State Park is a favorite.
“I really like to put people in new situations outdoors in the elements, but in a safe way,” Posalski said. “Storms can be dangerous when you’re down by the water but there are safe ways to enjoy it - like the south jetty tower - and still feel the power of the wind and the elements during storm events.”
Posalski added with a laugh that there is one certainty about the Oregon coast during the winter months.
“Whether it’s cold, whether it’s hot, there will be weather, whether or not. It is always exciting!”
Back on the beach at Cape Meares, Best agreed that winter weather is exciting, and he advised visitors to bring a camera when they come to the coast so to capture the drama.
“It’s fun to catch just the right moment when a big wave crashes; it’s what I call the ‘ooo-ahhh shot.’ You may have to shoot a hundred pictures to get that 'oooo-ahhhh shot,' but it’s sure worth it,” Best said.
Be sure to watch the weekly half hour program of Grant's Getaways. The show airs each Saturday and Sunday at 4pm on KGW.
For something different, you can follow my Oregon adventures via the Grant's Getaways podcast. Each segment is a storytelling session where I relate behind the scenes stories from four decades of travel and television reporting.
You can also learn more about many of my favorite Oregon travels and adventures in the Grant’s Getaways book series, including:
- "Grants Getaways I," Photography by Steve Terrill
- "Grant's Getaways II," Photography by Steve Terrill
- “Grant’s Getaways: 101 Oregon Adventures,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- “Grant’s Getaways: Guide to Wildlife Watching in Oregon,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- “Grant’s Getaways: Oregon Adventures with the Kids,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
The book collection offers hundreds of outdoor activities across Oregon and promises to engage a kid of any age.
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