Pacific City Preserve
It’s all Happening on the Beach at Pacific City Preserve!
By Meredith Walker

Just a short walk from the Pacific City Preserve, is the Pacific Ocean and a whole new world to explore.  The chief landmark of the area is Haystack Rock which is 237 feet high. This large Rock is a dedicated and protected marine garden.  It is home to a large selection of birds including the tufted puffin, gulls and cormorants. Can you tell how it got its name?  Does it look like a haystack?

Just walking along the beach can be an adventure.  Challenge your family to find the most interesting object brought in by the tide.  It could be an unusual piece of driftwood, a colorful piece of beach glass, a beautiful seashell or just the right stone for skipping across the water. 

Get everyone together to design the perfect sand castle. It doesn’t have to be a castle.   You can build just about anything you can think of using sand.  How about building a dragon, or a computer, or a puppy?  Go to www.sandcastlecentral.com to get some tips on how to build the perfect structure using wet sand.

Other interesting sites to explore on the beach are the tidepools during low tide. You can spot a variety of sea life in tidepools, such as starfish, crabs, small fish, sand-crabs, mussels, sand dollars, beach agates, and sea anemone at the tidepools. Remember, these are live creatures and you are welcome to look at them and take pictures; however, in order to protect them and you, don’t touch them.  Some of them are very prickly and touching them can be painful.  

The Oregon shore is also a great place for flying kites.  Bring one from home or buy one at a local shop.  Check out all the other colorful kites flying around.  Some are so large, it’s amazing that anyone can actually get them up in the air.

After your beach adventures, how about trying something new?  Pacific City Preserve is a great place to learn how to Geo-cache.  Geo-Caching (pronounced cashing) is a treasure hunt using Global Positioning Satellites (GPS). (Geo refers to geography and a cache is as a secret place for hiding things). At Pacific City Preserve, GPS users are given location coordinates, as well as, clues to find the four treasure chests which are hidden on the Preserve.  For example, to find geocache #1, you are given the  coordinates of N 45 degrees 14.040 and W 123 degrees 58.011 to enter into your GPS receiver and you are also given a the following clue:  When I see you, you see me; I am the deep blue sea.  The staff will help you learn all you need to know about geo-caching.  Then the next step is to go to the internet at  www.geocaching.com to find the coordinates for 28 different caches that have been hidden within 15 miles of Pacific City.  The Shipmates Store does have some GPS receivers on sale for your use or you can bring your own. 

Pacific City Preserve is open year round.

BACK TO FAMILY NEWS HOME