Bob Straub State Park
Sunset Dr
Pacific City, OR
A long, wild sand spit with the open Pacific on one side and the quiet Nestucca River on the other, saved from becoming a highway.
Bob Straub State Park is one of the Oregon Coast's great walks: a long finger of sand, roughly three miles of it, reaching south from Pacific City with the open Pacific crashing on one side and the calm Nestucca River sliding along the other. Because you have to walk out onto the spit rather than just pull up to it, most of the crowds stay behind, and you can have a stretch of wild, wind-carved beach nearly to yourself.
It is also a park with a story worth knowing. This spit was once slated to become a coastal highway, and it was only the stubborn conservation fight led by the man the park is now named for, Oregon governor Bob Straub, that kept it wild. Today it stands as a monument to the idea that Oregon's beaches belong to everyone, a place you visit precisely because someone refused to let it be paved.
What Guests Love
- A long, uncrowded beach where you can walk for miles with the ocean on one side and a river on the other
- The wild, undeveloped feel of a natural sand spit backed by dunes and shore pine
- Great birding and wildlife watching where the Nestucca River meets the sea
- Views of Haystack Rock and the dory fleet, and a quieter alternative to the busier main beach in town
Worth Knowing
- This is a day-use park with no camping, and the walk out onto the spit is over soft sand, so wear good footwear
- The Oregon Coast weather turns fast; bring wind and rain layers even on a fair morning
- Sneaker waves and strong currents are real dangers here, so never turn your back on the surf and keep well up the beach
- There are no services on the spit itself; stock up in Pacific City before you head out
Details
Pacific City, OR
Learn about Bob Straub State Park
A spit that was almost a highway
In the 1960s, state highway planners proposed running a coastal road right out along the Nestucca sand spit. To Bob Straub, then Oregon's state treasurer and later its governor, that was exactly the wrong future for the coast. A committed conservationist and a champion of the landmark Oregon Beach Bill that keeps the state's entire shoreline public, Straub fought the highway plan hard and won.
The land was pieced together through purchases and exchanges in the early to mid 1960s and set aside as a park, first called Nestucca Spit State Park. In 1987 it was renamed Bob Straub State Park in his honor, a fitting tribute to a man whose name is tied to the whole idea of the public Oregon Coast. Walking the spit today, you are walking ground that was very nearly asphalt.
Between the ocean and the river
What makes the spit special is that it is two worlds at once. On the west side is the raw Pacific, with rolling surf, drifting fog, and a long clean beach littered with sand dollars and driftwood. On the east side, sheltered behind the dunes, is the tidal lower Nestucca River, quiet and glassy, winding out to meet the sea at the spit's tip.
That meeting of fresh water, salt water, dune, and beach makes the area rich with life. Shorebirds and waterfowl work the river edge and the wet sand, harbor seals sometimes haul out near the mouth, and the Nestucca is a legendary salmon and steelhead river. Behind the beach, shore pines and beach grass hold the dunes in place, and the whole spit feels satisfyingly wild and undeveloped.
Walking the beach, respecting the water
The classic outing is simply to walk. From the day-use parking you cross soft sand and dunes to reach the open beach, then head south along the spit as far as you like, with the option of a loop back along the river side. It is flat and open, so distance is up to you, and the farther out you go the fewer people you will see.
Respect the ocean while you are here. This is a stretch of coast known for sneaker waves that surge far up the beach without warning and for strong currents near the river mouth, so stay well up on the dry sand, keep an eye on children, and never turn your back on the surf. Bring layers for the wind, footwear for the sand, and everything you need, because the spit has no services. Do that, and you get one of the coast's most rewarding, least crowded walks.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Pacific City
Cape Kiwanda
About 3 miles
A dramatic sandstone headland and giant dune just north in Pacific City, with tide pools, the dory fleet, and offshore Haystack Rock.
Pacific City
About 1 mile
The friendly village at the park's edge, the closest place for a meal, coffee, or supplies before your beach walk.
Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge
About 4 miles
A coastal refuge of marsh and meadow just south, a wintering ground for geese and a fine spot for birding and quiet trails.
Cape Lookout State Park
About 16 miles
A forested cape on the Three Capes route with a headland trail out over the ocean and a long protected beach.