Hug Point
Waterfalls and sea caves and beaches, oh my!
Have you ever seen The Goonies? It's a great little movie from the 80's about some kids who end up searching for pirate treasure. It's awesome. I absolutely love that movie. They go on a grand adventure, end up in sea caves along the coast, and generally do all the things I wished for as a kid.
It was all filmed in the northern Oregon area, around the town of Astoria and along the coastline near Cannon Beach. Whenever I am in the Cannon Beach area, that movie is on my mind in a big way.
My first shot of this gorgeous scene! I loved this place!
I was first here years ago, returned about 2 years ago with some buddies on a photo trip, and most recently was here back in March. Surprisingly, this was the first time I had ever heard of Hug Point. I'm still apologizing to myself for that! Look at what I had been missing!
This park (or State Recreation Area, to be exact) is not large but it packs in a lot of awesomeness. Just drive south of Cannon Beach for a few minutes, and the parking lot is right off the road. A short walk gets you to the beach. I recommend going right when you get to the beach, and walk around the large rock outcropping you will see there. Hopefully you are there at low tide, or else it may not be passable. I got lucky in that regard, as I never thought about it or checked the tide tables.
A closeup of the waterfall and caves. Yes, I went in the caves, but no treasure, darn it!
Once you get around that bend, you are confronted with the scene that I am showing you today. I didn't see much about this online, and when I arrived I just took a guess and went to the right. Fortunately the tide was out and I could walk around the bend a ways. When I saw this, I starting screaming! Thankfully we were the only ones there. :-) I sounded like a schoolgirl, I'm sure. I was as giddy as one, that's for certain!
I just love stuff like this. It makes me want to be a kid again, and wish I was in a pirate-treasure-hunting movie too! Doesn't that sound fun?
Be honest - don't you want to go see this?
A little wider than the 1st shot, showing more of the waterfalll.
