© 2003 by Oregon State University. This publication may be photocopied or reprinted in its entirety for noncommercial purposes.
Edited by Rick Cooper.
ORESU-G-03-014
(graphics are omitted from this version. A printable .pdf file with graphics is also available on this site.)
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how," says Dr. Seuss's wily Cat in the Hat. Having fun certainly means not getting hurt, and at the beach, the way to avoid getting hurt is to respect and have some knowledge of the ocean. You can supply the respect; our aim here is to give you some knowledge you can use to ensure that your experience at the beach is only fun. Take a few moments to review the following pointers with family members before you get to the beach. You'll be glad you did.
Know when the tide is coming in and going out. You can obtain tide cards or books at motels, sport shops, sporting goods stores, and other shops. Most tidebooks contain coastal fishing and shellfish regulations, too.
Know what you can and can't collect. The law regulates the gathering of sea stars and other marine life in all areas. Ask local authorities about restrictions.
Leave guns at home. Shooting any kind of firearm is prohibited on Oregon beaches.
Inviting as it may look, the beach is not a good highway. Driving on the sand can do a lot of damage to your car, and if you're not careful, you could lose it entirely.
Driving on Oregon beaches is regulated. When you plan to drive on the beach, check the beach access sign as you enter. It spells out the regulations applying to that part of the beach. The speed limit on the beach is 25 miles per hour. Careful driving on the beach is just as important as it is on a road.
Keep your car out of soft sand.
Use caution when crossing streams.
Never park your car and leave it unattended for long, especially at low tide-you could find it under several feet of water when you return.
Don't drive over vegetation. In many areas, vegetation has been planted to protect private property from being buried by sand.
Valuables aren't secure in your vehicle-take them with you.
Stay behind retaining walls. Cliff trails are slippery in wet weather. Don't trust shallowrooted shrubs on coastal cliffs for climbing support. They could cause you to fall.
Many cliffs are undercut and unstable. Stay back from the edge.
Offshore rocks and jetties are a temptation to people who fish or explore nature-and to children. Often exposed during low tides, they may be under violent waves as the tide returns.
Many lives have been lost when people became trapped offshore by incoming waves and tides.
Be careful when walking or playing on logs and driftwood piles. They often contain nails, broken glass, and other snags.
Do not climb or carve names on beachfront banks. They are major causes of erosion.
Also, please respect private property by using public accesses to and from the beach.
Exploring the beaches, bays, rocks, tide pools, dunes, and driftwood is exciting and educational. Enjoy them in safety-set a good example to children by observing precautions yourself.
Every 24 hours 50 minutes, the tide rises and falls twice. The outgoing tide is the most dangerous for swimming because it can pull almost anything, including huge logs, in its path. Incoming tides are most dangerous for fishing and exploring-when you're not paying attention.
If you're boating, check not only the tides but also weather, wave conditions, and fog. The Coast Guard can supply this information.
Be alert at all times for extra-high waves. They come unexpectedly and they're especially dangerous to children-and to people who fish from low rocks and jetties. Occasional "sneaker" waves build up and come much higher than others.
Never play on or around logs and driftwood that can be rolled or tossed by unexpected waves.
Many people have been disabled or even killed under the crush of rolling logs in the surf.
Strong outward currents of water, rushing out to sea, create such a force at certain spots along the beach that you can be swept off your feet and carried outward. Tides flowing in or out of bays and around jetties also cause very strong currents.
Playing on the sand dunes is lots of fun, but exploring them alone is not for the inexperienced or for children. Sand is very unstable. Digging and tunneling in sand is hazardous and can be fatal. Tunnel walls can collapse and bury anyone caught in them. And, like snow in an avalanche, sand on the dune surface can slide downhill, filling holes and trapping unwary occupants.
Sunbathing and swimming can be a fatal combination on hot summer days unless you exercise caution. In areas protected from the wind, air temperatures often climb into the 80°F range as a result of heat reflected from the sand. You might be tempted to plunge into the cold ocean (47 to 52°F) for relief, but the sudden temperature change can cause hypothermic shock and you can lose consciousness and drown. If you want to swim, enter the water gradually, so your body can become accustomed to the cold water.
Bays offer many recreational activities and abound in fish and shellfish. Slippery rocks and soft mud can be a hazard in some areas.
If you cook on the beach, check local regulations.
Use fire pits that won't allow the wind to scatter and spread the fire.
Douse untended fires with wet sand or water. Along parts of the coast, sand dunes have been stabilized with special grasses and shrubs. Untended fires can spread to this cover, damaging property and destroying years of work.
Building a fire in driftwood is prohibited. Coastal breezes could easily fan a fire into an uncontrollable blaze. Build fires away from drift logs and beach or dune grasses.
In state parks, build fires only in approved places:
Note: When there's a high fire hazard, park managers may restrict or prohibit fires that are normally permitted in park areas.
Note: This is an accessible version of a document originally produced for the Web in .pdf format. While it contains all significant content of the original print document, it may omit layout and graphic elements which contribute to the look and feel of the original, and make the .pdf version more suitable for printing.
Contact us: sea.grant.web@oregonstate.eduLast updated: Jan. 31, 2007